


Mostly Treats

by Charon_the_Sabercat



Category: Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 02:42:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15403185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charon_the_Sabercat/pseuds/Charon_the_Sabercat
Summary: Charlie wasn't prepared for the matching arm around his shoulder, or the rough, husky tone Chase's voice took as he answered, "Quite the opposite, Chief. I have a proposition for tonight's activities while the two of us are alone." He certainly wasn't prepared for the reaction, the hot flush of his cheeks and ears and the almost immediate perk of his eyebrow. "The reasons I gave for staying home are not entirely truthful."They never broke stride, they never slowed down. The elevator was under their feet faster than Charlie was expecting. "Not entirely truthful... as in-?""My interest is not in candy distribution, or interacting with minors. I believe you will indeed have to set up 'The Honor System' tonight. Our activities, with your permission, will be much more carnal."*~*~*~*~*~*A reposting of an old fanfic from the Transformers Kink Meme. My most popular work there!





	1. At the fire house

**Author's Note:**

> Halloween at the fire house.

Night settled early and fast, a chill hanging in the air. Leaves rustled and crunched under feet, and cars stayed nestled in warm, safe garages on Halloween night in Griffin Rock. In the fire house however, plans made early were set into motion, and borrowed technology fell into the hands of one Dani Burns.  
  
"Minimizer time! Who's ready for their first Halloween?"   
  
Each Rescue Bot gave their own, personal affirmative. Blades drowned out most of the others by virtue of bouncing up and down on his toes yelling "I AM! I am! Pretty please!"   
  
"Pipe down, Blades!" Dani laughed off the small scolding, holding the Minimizer down and taking her finger away from the trigger. "You're gonna wake the dead acting like that."  
  
"Or alert the humans," Heatwave grumped. "You really think they'll buy that we're dressed as ourselves for Halloween? That sounds like something you'd see in a cartoon."  
  
"I think we'll be okay," said Cody. He patted his own costume, a cardboard-and-duct-tape frame of a hovercar balanced over his hover scooter to go with his police officer outfit. "At least they'll know who you guys are right away!"   
  
"I can't wait to get to the fair!" Boulder mused to anyone who would listen. "I get to judge the pumpkin lobbing contest!" (Heatwave's grumpy mutter of "no fun unless you use your bare hands" went unremarked upon.) 

  
Blades grinned, nudging Boulder's shoulder to catch his attention. "And I'm going trick-or-treating, AND we're picking up Frankie and going on a haunted hay ride!"   
  
Cody caught Dani by the sleeve and whispered. "Blades isn't gonna be scared?"   
  
"He thinks the hay is haunted," Dani answered. "This is going to be hilarious."  
  
From the back of the room, hydraulics hissed, and the elevator settled into place carrying the rest of the Burns family. Kade was dressed for the night, a "sexy pirate" with no shirt and only most of a pair of pants. A red bandana kept the hair out of his eyes and added that extra bit of flare to his look. Graham, going for a less "give me chills all night" look, had gone for Spike from "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer". Charlie had opted out of Halloween this year, and simply stayed in his usual uniform.  
  
"Are all my kids ready for Halloween?" Charlie called out, and there Blades went to bouncing again. Heatwave and Chase both held him down by the shoulders.  
  
"Sweet!" Kade shouted. "Let's get the family picture taken so we can go out and party!"   
  
"Lemme shrink the Bots first!" Dani huffed out a huffy huff and reconfigured the Minimizer. "Don't fire it for two minutes and it turns itself off..."

 

With the family all together, bunched in close while the Bots shrunk down to human size, Kade couldn't help but stare at Cody's costume. "Cody, what are you supposed to be?"  
  
"It'sth not obviousth?" Graham immediately burst into air guitar. "It'sth a gleaming alloy air car sthooting towardsth me, two lanesth wide!"   
  
"That's one!" Cody cheered. "If five people recognize my costume tonight, Frankie owes me all of her chocolate candy!"  
  
"Take out the fangs, Graham, you sound like you're talking through a mouthful of peanut butter."   
  
"Resthpect the Jossth, Kade."  
  
Charlie Burn's call of "Line up!" had the whole family, shrunken Bots and all, immediately snugged together for the family Halloween photo: Dani the herself, Kade the sexy pirate, Graham the Whedon vampire, Cody the obscure Rush reference, and the tiny Rescue Bots. Charlie beamed with pride.   
  
"This is going to be a fantastic Halloween." One little click, and "You're all free to go! Happy Halloween, everybody!"   
  
"Sweet!" Kade took Heatwave by the arm and pulled the confused fire truck out with him. "C'mon, Heatwave! First stop, Griffin Grill and Bar! Let's rustle up some babes!"   
  
"Minors aren't allowed in bars!" Heatwave shot his team out last desperate look, and away they went for a night of Halloween pub crawling.   
  
"You've been quiet, Chase." Cody kept his voice quiet, a little worried. "Are you okay?"   
  
"With all due respect to your holiday customs, Cody..." Chase answered. "I would prefer to stay behind and administer candy with Chief Burns."   
  
"You sure?" Charlie took the rare treat to walk over and lay a hand on Chase's shoulder. Even shrunk, he managed to stay a head taller than him. "I was just gonna set up the Honor System and relax on the couch tonight."   
  
"I insist, Chief. The rest of the team has divided into efficient groups and activities," Chase explained. "My going along with any of the aforementioned activities would result in me becoming, as you humans call it, a missing wheel."   
  
Charlie smiled. "That's a 'third wheel', Chase."  
  
Chase shyly rubbed the back of his neck. "Are not tricycles more stable than bicycles?"   
  
"Everyone has fun in their own way, Chief Burns." Boulder, thankfully about Charlie's height, gave his arm a friendly little tap. "I say go for it."   
  
"Don't wait up for us, Dad!" Cody called from the door. "After trick-or-treating, we're sorting the candy at Frankie's house!"   
  
The station filled out fast after that, the whole team on their way to exciting adventures and wonderful first-time experiences... and here, back home, were Chase and Charlie.  
  
"Well, it's just you and me tonight, partner." Charlie put an arm around Chase's shoulder and lead him back to the elevator. "This will be your first time seeing the inside of the house though, right? I'm sorry if tonight turns out a little dull."   
  
Charlie wasn't prepared for the matching arm around his shoulder, or the rough, husky tone Chase's voice took as he answered, "Quite the opposite, Chief. I have a proposition for tonight's activities while the two of us are alone." He certainly wasn't prepared for the reaction, the hot flush of his cheeks and ears and the almost immediate perk of his eyebrow. "The reasons I gave for staying home are not entirely truthful."   
  
They never broke stride, they never slowed down. The elevator was under their feet faster than Charlie was expecting. "Not entirely truthful... as in-?"   
  
"My interest is not in candy distribution, or interacting with minors. I believe you will indeed have to set up 'The Honor System' tonight. Our activities, with your permission, will be much more carnal."

 

The elevator ride ended in explanations, but not much in the way of... comprehension. Charlie staggered into the firehouse proper (and the kitchen specifically), Chase stepping in behind him, stoic and stalwart as ever. Charlie took a seat at the kitchen table, sitting over the bowl of Halloween candy. "You're... been wanting this to happen?"   
  
"As a fantasy, yes, for quite some time. As an achievable prospect, not since the incident with the Minimizer concluded safely." Chase's tone never changed. It was still husky and deep, and so forward. There was none of the nervous excitement that shook in a tense line along Charlie's shoulders.  
  
"And me? As in me, me? Specifically me."   
  
Chase's voice stayed even, but his hands showed his apprehension. Chase began nervously wringing his left hand in his right. "I find your personality to be most appealing, and compatible with my own desires. Besides, even as a human, your physical features translate well to my preferences."   
  
"Your preferences?" Charlie smiled. Clinical language aside, there were a lot of compliments in there. The nervous started to leave him, even if the blush never did, and he grinned up at the taller bot. Chase, spotting his smile, visibly straightened up and... got brighter? At least his optics did. Charlie might have even seen a little bit of a nervous gulp. "What kind of preferences?"   
  
"I like bodies with a high chest-to-hip ratio. Broad shoulders, specifically. Your hair color is somewhat metallic, as well." Chase was nearly crushing his left hand now. "A rather handsome jaw line-"  
  
"Really?" It wasn't a real question, so much as a confirmation. Charlie sat up a little straighter, stroked his chin, watched as a shudder ran straight up Chase's back and flickered his shoulder lights. The more he watched, the easier Chase read, and the more he was liking the idea. Chase, now that he was human height, was pretty slim, and he liked that... "So... how do you know about my 'preferences'?"   
  
"I scanned the magazines you kept in your old cruiser."   
  
Oh, there went the mood for a second. Charlie froze. "Oh jeez."   
  
"I assure you, if you choose to keep them in my interior, I will do my best to ensure they are never discovered." 

"P'HA!" His head fell to the table, and Charlie laughed a good, long laugh, and poor Chase he had to stop he must have thought- but no, when Charlie looked up Chase was actually closer, standing comfortably and finally having let go of his long-suffering hand. He was even smiling a tiny, hopeful smile, and Charlie knew it was happening. "Ooh boy... you know what, Chase? Let's do it. What am I looking forward to? Do you get off on electrical current? Do you have tentacles?"   
  
The smile was still small, but for Chase, he was practically beaming. "Our sexual equipment is analogous. I have both and input and an output at your dispo-"   
  
"Don't call it 'at my disposal', Chase. We're both going to enjoy this." Charlie stood up and filled in the space between them, putting his arms around Chase's waist and pulling him close. His metal was warm, tense with hydraulic pistons and tension cables flexing under his palms, exotic but comfortably familiar. "Who's catching?"   
  
Chase put his hands on Charlie's shoulders, loosening in his grip. "I believe I will, sir. I enjoy being in the submissive position."  
  
Charlie smiled wide. "Perfect. Have anything that turns you off?"   
  
"I do not possess a switch, sir."   
  
"Chase."  
  
"Oh. In that respect, I do not enjoy being degraded or physically harmed. I do enjoy being given orders and being bodily handled."   
  
Tonight was going to be wonderful. Charlie felt his member give a happy little pulse at the many, many scenarios running through his mind. "Let's get the bowl set up outside."   
  
"One last question, sir." Chase lowered his optics for a moment, and his shoulders pulled in, making himself small. Charlie was still a little flummoxed by the difference in height, but he'd made stranger things work. "Would you be averse to... kissing?"  
  
Now that was worth a little thought. It seemed a little personal, but Charlie found himself not minding. It was the mechanics of the process. Chase was still metal, and his lips, if there were there at all, weren't very prominent. "How exactly would we-"  
  
Chase kissed him. Flexible metal, dozens of little micro-joints that Charlie couldn't see from the ground, forming around his mouth with warmth and just a little, slightly oily moisture. Chase tasted like Vasoline, very vaguely. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't human, and Charlie flinched at first. He felt Chase flinch in response, and feeling guilty, he wrapped a hand around Chase's head and pulled them back together. The Rescue Bot sagged in relief and snugged him in closer.   
  
Someone knocked at the door. "Trick or treat!"  
  
Charlie came away first and met Chase's shy smile with one of his own. "Candy. Then sex."  
  
"Agreed."

 


	2. Meanwhile, back with Blades...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The interlude chapters are short as a leftover from posting on TFAnonkink.

Meanwhile, out on the streets of Griffin Rock, specifically in the depths of suburbia, Blades was getting a crash course in backstory. It was a long walk to Frankie's house (even to Cody, traveling on the scooter's slowest hover setting), and while they made their way to the meeting point, they rehearsed.  
  
"So!" Cody recapped, "If anyone asks?"   
  
"My name's Parveesh, and I'm from India! We didn't celebrate Halloween," Blades parroted with a smile, finding himself wonderfully in character for his hopefully unimportant alibi. "But I've always wanted to try! And I'm really in character, so call me Blades!"   
  
"Perfect!" Cody signaled for, and received, a tiny high five. "Oh! And where's your pinky?"   
  
"Oh! Um, it's-" Blades checked his left hand, where he'd put a little mark on- "Ah! It's in my third finger!"   
  
"Noble! Another high five!" Their hands met in victory, along with a little fistbump and a pair of matching thumbs-up and smiles! Dani groaned.  
  
"I like this holiday!" Blades bounced on his feet again, spreading his rotors to soak in the night air. He looked up to buildings, up! Finally up, where he could see windows and balconies and little gardens and the undersides of air conditioners, where he could feel the solid Earth underneath him. From every direction, families and children were laughing, enjoying life. He felt in scale with everything for the first time since Cybertron, like a proper grounder, like he was finally at home!   
  
"You walk places, and you talk to people- ooh people." Blades deflated a little, but kept the hopeful hop in his feet. "Dani, do you think the humans will like me?"   
  
Dani kept the pace at the front of the group, letting Cody and Blades fall into their natural little ducking step behind her. She pondered the question a bit, making way for a group of teenagers going the other way down the street. "I don't see why not. You just have to make a good first impression! Let them know you're a very sweet, very talkative guy. Oh, and on Halloween, don't let anyone know you're a-"   
  
Blades didn't hear the end. Something grabbed his waist. Something screamed in his ear, breathed on his neck, had his rotors in clammy, hot hands-!  
  
"AAH!"   
  
Blades bolted behind Dani, while the teenagers ran the other way down the street, laughing at their ill-gotten scare.   
  
Dani only sighed and tried to keep a smile off her face. "A scaredy cat."  
  
Cody turned hard on his scooter, yelling after the teenagers, "That's not fair, guys! Leave him alone!"   
  
"Don't encourage them, Cody," Dani chided. "If you say stuff like that, they're just gonna get more kids and do it again." Please let them come back with more, she said in her mind. She needed more of this if she was going to get through a night of being swarmed with small children.  
  
"They DO that?!" Blades barely had the nerve to peek out from behind Dani's back. "They'll just go up to people on the street and scare them?!"  
  
"Sorry, Blades," said Cody. His little shoulders pulled in, turning back to the Rescue Bot timidly. "That's the 'trick' part of 'trick or treating'. It's not that bad! After a while, it's kind of fun!"   
  
"How is being scared fun?!"   
  
"Well, when you know you're safe, it's not really scary." Cody stroked his chin in thought. "Well, kinda. It's still scary, but when you're done, you can laugh about it, 'cause you're not in any real danger."   
  
"Yeah, Blades, it's like going down the waterfall at Blossom Vale." Dani pulled away and helped Blades stand up straight. "You have fun doing that, right? Being scared on Halloween is kind of the same thing; a quick thrill, and you're totally safe."   
  
Blades swallowed hard and nodded, getting back up to his full height, if not his previous happy gait. His legs shook and his rotors rattled after him as the line reformed. He reluctantly fell into step. "I'm totally safe. I'm totally safe." He could do this. This would... get fun, eventually. "I'm totally safe."   
  
Tall buildings made long shadows and dark alleyways. Windowboxes made winding fingers of black along darker walls, and when he was shrunken, he couldn't transform and fly away, not without breaking his cover.   
From every direction, humans laughed.  
  
He felt so small.   
  
"I'm... totally safe."

 


	3. Meanwhile, back with Boulder...

Meanwhile, in town square, Halloween came alive with streamers and booths and fried Cadbury Eggs distributed by robots. "The Science-o-Ween" Festival was just picking up steam, with parents and the youngest of children and the smileyest of volunteers filling out the various activities. Beanbag tosses, carnival rides, stages set up for contests, and in the middle of it all, one Mayor Luskey (dressed as a sumo wrestler, with inflatable suit and loud, whirring air pump) tapping at a microphone.  
  
"Citizens of Griffin Rock, welcome to the 20th Annual Science-O-Ween fair!" Some applause before he continued. "As your mayor-"  
  
At the signal, Doc Green (Blade, this year), Graham, and Boulder immediately stopped paying attention and started going over the schedule from behind-stage. "All right," Doc Green began, "first up is the costume contest for small children. 6:30 is the Punkin' Chunkin' competition. Then a 20 minute break for clean up, and at 7:00, the zombie-walk marathon."   
  
"I wanna do that one!" Boulder pointed to his big scoop feet. "I'm good at walking awkwardly."  
  
"7:40 is the pumpkin pie eating contest." Doc Greene gave a happy little shoulder shuffle. "That will be my event! And then a long break for the Trunk-Or-Treat, and at 9:00, the dance competition!"   
  
"There'sth gonna be five groupsth doing the Thriller dance, I know it." Graham rolled his eyes and leaned back against the stage backdrop. It wiggled uncertainly, but stayed upright, and the three scientists shared a collective sigh of relief. "Three in a row, probably. Justht watch."   
  
Doc Greene nodded sagely, and Boulder felt a little twinge of worry. He put it out of his mind quickly enough. Doc Green continued, "And then the costume contest for adults at 9:30, and we all get to go home!"   
  
"That's about four hours..." Boulder mumbled. "I hope that's enough time."   
  
"Time to what?" asked Graham.  
  
"Nothing important." Boulder rubbed his hands together, ready to build. "Do we set up the lights for the costume contest stage now?"   
  
"Well, we don't have to, really." Graham thought a moment. "Not for another 20 minutesth or stho."   
  
"The alternative," said Doc, "Is staying here and listening to the Mayor's speech."  
  
There sat a pregnant pause of an obvious answer.  
  
"I'll get the lightsth," said Graham.  
  
"I'll man the pumpkin battery booth," said Doc.  
  
"And I'll inspect the pumpkin throwing devices," said Boulder.  
  
They scattered fast, with Boulder heading out to the long, wide-open drag of main street where the pumpkins would be chunked. Little cleaning robots hovered at the ready up and down the six lane street, and each little cannon, catapult, and trebuchet stood in a quiet line, waiting for its chance to fire. Boulder let himself feel a well of pride for humans. Such brilliant little engineers! What a pleasant species-  
  
"You! What's your name?"

Boulder turned to meet the voice; one small Priscilla Pinch, dressed for Halloween in a little pink schoolgirl's uniform, stood waiting at his side. Boulder smiled and remembered his backup story fast. "My name's Imari. I'm a-"   
  
Priscilla cut him off fast and harsh. "A judge, right."   
  
"Well," he continued, "I meant to say I'm a Rescue Bot for Halloween, b-"  
  
"Whatever, M'mary, here's the deal. I'm Priscilla Pinch, and I'm important. And I can make you feel important, too, if you agree to help my family." Priscilla's hand dove into a pocket hidden in the pleats of her skirt, pulling out a thick wad of human money. Boulder didn't have the knowledge or time to count, but it looked sizable and very green. "So, I want first place in the pumpkin contest. My number is 6. Fix it so it will win."   
  
Oh dear. This wouldn't do. Still, Boulder kept smiling and kneeled to her height. "I'm sorry, Miss Pinch, but that would be cheating. You'll have to do your very best and win on your own."   
  
"I AM winning on my own!" Priscilla snapped. She jammed a little finger into Boulder's face, right below his "nose". "I'm paying my OWN money for you to fix my OWN cannon!"   
  
"Which is a bribe, Miss Pinch. I'm sorry," he softly spoke, "But no."   
Priscilla's face went fire-engine red. Boulder was briefly reminded of Heatwave. "What do you care?! It's just a stupid contest where you throw stupid pumpkins!"   
  
Boulder's smile grew. "If that's the case, then why do you feel the need to cheat to win?"   
  
"EEUURGH!" Priscilla's wad of cash went back into her pocket, and she stomped away in a huff. "You just wait, Mary!"  
  
He hoped four hours would be long enough, because time was already beginning to drag a little for him.

 


	4. Meanwhile, back with Heatwave...

"Here it is, Heatwave!" Kade boasted. "The best party in town!"   
  
Club Delta: the ironically-named first stop in the zombie pub crawl, the most popular bar in Griffin Rock, and tonight's first pickings of hot chicks in little costumes. Big-screen TVs on every wall broadcasted ever major sport. Waiters delivered free pop and complimentary hot wings for all designated drivers, which Kade would be taking advantage of, thank you. Sexy babe central. Lots of competition. A whole street of skimpy outfits, and Kade was in the center of it. (Well, he was at one end of it, with all night to go.)   
  
Heatwave was... scanning the bar. His energizer hand flexed. "Why is the place full of smoke? Where's the fire?"  
  
"What?" Kade had to double-check. No fire, just the usual haze of the bar. "Nowhere. People are just smoking."  
  
That only made Heatwave look more anxious, and he stepped back towards the door. "The humans are on fire?!"  
  
"What?! No! Heatwave- frig-" Kade groaned. Jeez, you'd think with all the TV he watched Heatwave would know better by now. His hand met his forehead hard and stayed there. "They are smoking. Cigarettes. It's one of the two places in town you can still smoke indoors."   
  
"Your people have cygarettes? And no built-in filtration system? Gross." Heatwave sighed and saw all his vents expelling air, swirling the smog in the bar. Perfect. Kade had promised him "a fun night" and he, dumbly, had expected... frag, he didn't even know at this point. Spooking his family? Mudding? Even chucking rocks into the ocean seemed like a better idea than sitting in a room that stank of smoke and foamy human beverages. "What are we here to do?"   
  
Kade grinned, flex- ahem, stretching his arms over his head. A few nearby ladies swooned out loud. He wasn't sure where, but he'd find them soon. Oh yeah. "The usual. Flirt a little, pick up some chicks, show off."  
  
"Good for you and your giant ego," Heatwave groused. "What are we here to do?" Emphasis on the we.   
  
"You," Kade nudged his arm. "Are gonna be my wingman."   
  
That bit of slang, he knew. Heatwave pointed a dangerous finger at Kade's chest. "Frag no I am not hel-"  
  
"Look, it's Kade!" A woman's voice, from somewhere in the crowd, cut through the low drone of television on television on television on jukebox on throng of loud, chattering humans. A body sliced through the orange-and-black mush of shoulders to form a short red-headed lady, dressed as a short-skirted devil. "Hey, Kade. Who's your tall friend?"  
  
In that moment, Heatwave remembered he was supposed to pick a pseudonym about a week ago. From the look on Kade's face, he'd just remembered too. Kade covered up his surprise with a cough ("Sorry, smoke.") and answered, "Oh, this is-s-s s-Steve! Cousin of mine, on Mom's side. He's from the mainland."   
  
"Steve?!" Heatwave growled as low as he could, dangerously quiet for towering at least two heads over Kade.   
  
"He's so... tall!" the lady cooed. She swirled a drink in her hand, unabashedly sizing Heatwave up. The Rescue Bot recoiled just a bit. "Shame the costume covers up so much of you. I'd like a better look at those thighs. Nice and thick."   
  
Kade just managed a dull, unimpressed, "What?"   
  
"Most of that's the costume," Heatwave answered. Seemed like a decent enough excuse, he'd just have to remember it for anyone who asked later.  
  
"Oh-ho-ho, I'm not buyin' that." She crossed an arm under her chest, subtly propping up her bust and straining the neckline of her already tiny dress. "The way you move? You fill out that suit nice. How long 'til you take it of-"  
  
"OH, hey, Candance, look!" Kade grabbed her shoulder and pointed her in the direction of something blue. "College quarterback dressed as Doctor Manhattan!"  
  
"Candace" gasped so hard that a few people actually turned to look, and into the crowd she went.   
  
He didn't have time to recover from the uncomfortable; Kade grabbed Heatwave by a shoulder light and yanked him down to eye-level. "The hell was that, Heatwave?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you not hear?" Heatwave growled back. "My name is fragging 'Steve'."   
  
"You're the one who was supposed to pick a name and tell me!" Eyes were settling on them, he could feel it. He was also pretty sure he was getting bad looks from the staff for blocking the door. He pulled Heatwave into the crowd behind him, keeping his light in a white-knuckle grip. "Look- don't- if that happens again, you point them at me, got it?"  
  
Heatwave wasn't sure how hard he could lay on the sarcasm, but oh was he going to try. "Oh yeah, next time I get cornered by horny human females, I'll be sure to let you know."   
  
"Good." Kade let him go, didn't even look at him, and swaggered into the crowd. "Now, stay close to me. Anyone asks, I'm your driver, and just funnel the hot ones over to me. Nobody less than a seven, okay?"   
  
Kade missed it anyway. Frag. Tonight was gonna be painful.

 


	5. Back at the fire house with Chase and Charlie

The lights were on, the windows were closed, the door was locked, and the candy was carefully flagged with an special "This is Halloween candy, do not clean it up" tag for the automatic cleaner bots. Charlie's core tingled with excitement, and from how closely Chase was shadowing him, he could guess that the bot was feeling the same way. One last little jiggle of the door handle, to be safe. "We're all locked in, Chase."   
  
"Indeed." Chase felt no need to speak in his berthroom voice at this point, not until the situation was more conducive to the tones. He simply let himself speak, and while he was still nervous about the eventual activities of the night, he found himself growing happier with the turn of events than he had previously expected. "Now there is the matter of where to begin. I am admittedly not well researched in this regard."   
  
"Not well researched..." Charlie had to shake his head, but he supressed the laugh. That language... He took Chase's elbow in his and lead him to the living room couch. "This isn't your first time, is it?"   
  
Chase, perhaps rudely but alas he couldn't help it, chuckled from deep in his chest. He even smirked a little, and Charlie blushed at the handsome picture it painted of the tall bot. "No, sir. Very much no. But I have little information on how you like things to proceed."   
  
"Let's start with the basics." Chase gave a quick little nod, and Charlie gave him a gentle, playful chest against his chest. Surprised by the show of force, Chase fell back onto the couch; it rocked with his weight. He landed awkwardly, legs and arms spread out to catch himself. Very nice.   
Charlie straddled Chase's lap. His pants were feeling tight already, in obvious areas, but mostly straining at his knees and hips. They weren't meant for playing around in. If he kept up like this with his pants on, he was sure to have both his legs asleep within a few minutes. Still, from experience, he knew it looked damned good on him. He followed Chase's line of sight, watching as he quickly took in the taught fabric, then more closely studied the firm lines of his legs and waist. Perfect, once again.  
  
"First step is getting me out of these clothes." Charlie traced his collar button, and- oh, right, off went the commlink and onto the side table- and let it run down each and every one down to his belt buckle. "You know how clothes work?"   
  
"No, sir." Chase spoke the truth, but he could recognize an analogue when he saw it. Cybertronians very rarely let themselves be de-plated. Chief Burns was letting him, and so soon, and would possibly remain that way... He swallowed to mask the sound of his panel unlocking. "Please... instruct me."   
  
"Also, the 'sir'? I'm liking it," said Charlie. "Just so you know."   
  
Chase's lights flickered again. Was that a blush, for him? "I have an... affinity for submitting to authority."   
  
"Look up at me."

 

Chase did, and once he has Charlie's optical contact, he couldn't look away. Charlie took one of his hands in his and pulled it up to his chest, guiding his fingers to rest them gently on his topmost button. His weight rested fully on his knees, still. Chase wondered if Chief Burns was uncomfortable with the idea of letting him support his weight. Or perhaps simply uncomfortable? Was he thinking too much? Yes. Back to the clothing.   
  
"It fits through a little hole on the other side."  
  
"That is what she said, sir."  
  
"P'HA! Quit it- you-" Charlie laughed, and Chase found the laugh so endearing. He could make him smile so easily. "Oh god, we're going to have a lot of fun. Come on, buttons come undone like-"   
  
Flick, away went the first button, exposing a little cleft of collarbone and a tuft of silver hair. Chase leaned forward and kissed it.   
  
Charlie started. He wasn't kidding about asking if kissing was okay. "Oo... I like that. You gonna do that for every button?"   
  
Chase was already reaching for the other one, keeping his free hand buried in the couch for stability. "With your permission."   
  
"Permission granted. With enthusiasm."   
  
"What will you be doing with your own hands, Chief?"   
  
"I'll think of something..." Another button fell away, and Chase kissed his breastbone, and Charlie felt a tad self-conscious about all his hair. No time to think about that now, though, he had a bot to map. He started with hands on either side of Chase's neck and explored.  
  
Teasing his thumbs along Chase's neck seemed to make the bot shiver. and while the shoulder lights didn't seem to have much feeling, his wheel wells did. They were so clean too. Chase had planned for this, the cheeky little- another button, and another kiss. Charlie felt so exposed. Back along Chase's shoulders, with another stop at Chase's neck and up to his "ears". He tweaked his little antennae, and Chase gasped. Maybe he could-  
  
Another button, and Chase had to both bend down and pull Charlie forward to kiss him just above his abs. He was human sized, but damn did he keep his strength. Charlie calculated in his mind; Chase was taller, stronger than him, and he was supposed to be the top? It didn't add up. Maybe he was old fashioned. Was he overthi-  
  
"I am..." Chase spoke from against his chest, working on his second-to-last button. "... slightly surprised by your surplus of hair."  
  
"Aw crap, really?" He knew he should'v-  
  
"I like it," said Chase. Chase lifted the chief, kissing his navel. Chief Burn's torso proved to be fairly evenly coated with the same shining, silvery hair that coated his head. Although, now that Chase looked harder, the hair against his lower belly seemed to be closer to gunmetal gray, much like his own protoform. Everywhere on his organic body, Chase could find familiar touches that only proved Charlie more attractive. "I have read that it is a sign of virility."   
  
"You're damn right it is!" Screw shaving and waxing! Charlie thumped his fist against Chase's shoulder in triumph and ranted to no one in particular. Chase dutifully kept working at the last button, but oh Charlie could feel him smirking against his belly. "Bare baby-chested look, my ass! I'm hairy and I'm proud- OH jeez!"

 

Chase believed he had triumphed. His last kiss landed just above the chief's belt buckle, derailing his train of thought. Repeating the actions he had seen in various movies, Chase pulled the shirt up and away; Charlie obligingly kept his arms back until it came away completely.   
  
They each settled back, taking each other in while keeping their hands on each other. Charlie shirtless, hairy, exposed, and proud of all of it. (Bless his luck for not wearing his undershirt today.) Chase flustered, warmer, unlocked and he believed he felt himself beginning to self-lubricant, and his lights flickered again.  
  
"This is transpiring more agreeably than I imagined."   
  
"I like it too, so far." Charlie undid his belt himself, explaining as he went. "I'll get this part. It's getting a little snug down there."   
  
"Your timing is admirable. I also find I require," Chase gave his lap a quick glance, to inform Charlie. "A slightly large range of motion."   
  
"I finally get to see what's under the hood, huh?" Charlie rolled off of the bot, sitting on his left side and wiggling off the rest of his pants.  
  
Chase spread his legs and gave his panel a very light touch, to gauge how sensitive his components had become while compressed between his legs. Even the slight brush had his circuits sparking, and by Charlie's hungry expression and visibily dented underclothes, he had reacted outwardly without realizing it. "I apologize if I become too loud in my enthusiasm."   
  
"You know, you keep saying things that make you sound better and better. Don't apologize about 'em."   
  
'Yes, sir." He let himself open.  
  
Little panels opened and slid over, inside, out of the way. Chase opened up from two little circular ports, one above, one below, the bottom one opening into a glistening wet hole and the other expanding into a cock Charlie had only seen in "novelty" size. Chase was easily much bigger than him, more in girth than length, not entirely double size in either category, just... big. Pretty big. Surprised though he was, Charlie calmed down fast. Big enough to be uncomfortable in him. "I can see why you wanted to bottom."   
  
"Actually, no, I simply prefer receiving," Chase answered with some difficulty. Now that his hardware had activated, it was pinging him insistently to be used. "Cybertronians come in a wide range of body sizes, and our hardware must be size-"  
  
"Chase, please tell me you didn't rehearse a speech for 'I'm sorry I'm bigger than you'." Charlie threw one arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a half-hug.  
  
With a little, shy turn of his head, Chase muttered, "My research has told me of the universal fear of-"

 

"Don't trust everything you read on the internet, Chase. You look good. Here." A quick swipe of his hips, and Charlie tossed his boxers away. His own member, just as hard as Chase's (barring the metal), stood up from his hips, and he pressed the two of them side-to-side to compare. "Show you mine."   
  
Chase studied Charlie's spike for as long as it felt polite to do so. "I like your texturing."   
  
"I've heard good things about it." Charlie gave Chase's cock another once-over. "I like the paintjob. What are those, LEDs?"   
  
"Indeed! Thank you for noticing."   
  
"You're pretty big." Charlie hovered his hand over Chase's cock, waiting until- yep, he got a nod- he had permission before running his hand along it. Nice and hot, but with some much-needed give. (It pivoted from the bottom like a joystick, heh.) Chase's hips rocked along with the very gentle movements, "closing" his eyes while Charlie played with him. The human's eyes fell to his lower hole, and the little trickles of clear oil dripping from it. "We should put down a towel. Am I gonna be big enough for you?"   
  
"I- we- Cybertronians are built to accomodate." Chase strained to speak; oh the teasing. How Charlie managed to pick up on the minor things he enjoyed, he would never guess. "My valve will adjust f-for you."  
  
"Let me get a towel and I'll be right back. Last thing we need to do is explain to the kids why there's oil all over the couch."   
  
Charlie stood up, and oof there was the stiffness from his damned pants. Still, walking around naked, hard as a rock, coming back to a hot body and a wet hole- oh, he felt like a newlywed again.  
  
Chase took his hand, and Charlie noticed the slight tremor there. "You're implying that tonight will be... messy?"   
  
Charlie grinned, leaning down to speak directly into Chase's ear. "It's gonna be real messy. Wet and sloppy and loud. It's going to get all over your thighs, and your p- uh, valve-" That made Chase shiver hard. Perfect. "And my cock and you're gonna love every minute of it."  
  
The chief kisses his finial, and Chase let out his first real moan of the evening. He let go of Charlie's hand and stood upright, keeping the sitting area clean while Charlie retrieved a towel from the other room. To simply stand there felt... underwhelming, however. Should he pose? He shifted his weight to one leg, cocking his hips; a little bead of valve fluid ran down his leg and set his sensors alight.   
  
Maybe he could... simply get started, while he waited. Chase put one finger against his valve aperture, the other hand holding the lips apart, and-  
  
"Ah-ah-ah."   
  
Chase jolted and followed the voice. Charlie was peeking out of the doorway to the kitchen, arcing a teasing eyebrow at him. "Don't you get started without me. Hands behind your back."   
  
He obeyed, crossing his hands at the wrist behind him. Another little bead rolled down his opposite leg. Chase shuddered.  
  
"That's better." Away he went behind the door frame. "Just looking for a big one we can use- ah. This one. It's falling apart anyway." He came back swiftly, with a ratty beach towl adorned with Polynesian flowers thrown over his shouler, still hard, still smiling.   
  
"May I take my seat again please, sir?"

 

"Just a second." Charlie took his time to bend over the sofa, lay out the towel lengthwise, straighten it. Chase shamelessly ogled the chief's aft. Tight. Toned. Also hairy.  
  
"You are handsomely built from all sides, sir."   
  
"Thank you. All right-" Charlie pointed to the sofa. "Sit in the same place, but with your legs spread and your feet up on the couch."   
  
"May I free my hands, please?"  
  
"Of course." Charlie kept giving instructions, even as Chase sat down- giving him a subtle nudge and another kiss as he passed- and arranged himself. "I'm more than ready to be inside you by this point. Do you need me to touch your dick for you to come?"   
  
"No, sir," answered Chase. With his bulk- he did not often get a chance to refer to himself as bulky, he realized- the arrangement on couch was a tight fit. "All the sensors necessary for overload are contained within the area, although I have highly sensitive areas here-" He pointed to the top edge of his valve. "-and internally where my valve and spike components meet."   
  
"That's almost spooky how well that works." Charlie fell between Chase's legs and slipped his knees underneath Chase's thighs. He felt the Rescue Bot adjust, saving him from taking all of the heavy bot's weight and thank goodness for that. "I'll leave your- spike was it?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Your spike alone for now... save it for later tonight."   
  
Chase's... everything flickered, his shoulders and some of his interior lights and even the LEDs in his dick. "I admire your foresight."   
  
Charlie pressed close, nudging their hips together, spike-to-dick, testing how they fit. Chase was angular, but nowhere where it would hurt if he got rough. He took one smooth thigh in his hand and pushed it up, opening his legs a little more and making Chase whimper. He slipped his middle finger inside to test the waters; a tight, rubbery sheath with concentric ridges and calipers squeezing against him. Oily. Hot. DAMN hot, waiting for him.  
  
"Sir," Chase groaned, "I am finding my patience to be quite tested."  
  
"Right, right."  
  
He guided himself to the entrance and pushed. Chase squeezed down around him, holding him too tight to move even before he got halfway, then relaxed enough to let him start again. Charlie pressed himself in deep as he could go; Chase moaned in his ear and arched underneath him, brought their chests together. One hand on either side of Chase's hips, Charlie wriggled until he was balanced enough to thrust, fighting the urge to make compromising noises until he was sure he could move.   
  
Chase had no such compunctions, making any noise he felt like, revelling at the human spike within him. So wet, even on its own, and so giving compared to a Cybertronian spike,it moved with him, conformed to him where he would have to adjust to one of his peers. His free leg lost its grounding, slipping off the couch and hovering in the air as Charlie got comfortable. He made simply let it fall to the side. It spread his valve considerably, and he felt open to the point of being obscene and it only made his core temperature run hotter.   
  
Eventually, Charlie fell into just the right spot, hovering over Chase with his head sitting just over Chase's left shoulder. Chase lifted one arm, let it fall around Charlie's back, then the other. Pulled them together. Chase kissed him.  
  
"Make some noise for me."

 

Gentle rolls of his hips first, then harder, playful taps; Charlie kept himself moving, anchored by his hands, sinking into that alien heat. Distantly, he felt guilty. He should touch a little more. Say something sexy, make Chase feel appreciated, but wow Chase was doing a good job on his own. Each little tap made a tiny, unconscious little "ah", and his hands pawed at his back, trying to steady himself without holding on too hard. Bless the mech and his lack of fingernails, he wouldn't have those to deal with for days. Chase's eyes closed early, but Charlie did his best to take everything in. The way Chase's head rolled back and his neck was exposed, the heaving chest, and little crackles of electricity playing off his frame. The first time he noticed the little blue arc, he nearly stopped; but when Chase bodily yanked him back inside, he quickly passed it off as "normal, continue, feels good".  
  
Faster, a little harder, a little easier to move as Chase got wetter. Charlie's thighs were slick with sweat and oil. One hand held Chase's leg against his shoulder, rubbed it, gave it firm little pats when he felt good. Chase's legs fell open sideways. His voice grew louder, a little deeper, more pronounced with each thrust into him.   
  
Humans were so well made. Charlie was amazing. Chase marveled at everything, swept up and hungry for stimulation and more of the human spike, yes please, but the everything. The pulse of his blood so close to his skin and his little silver hairs tickling at his EM field wreaked havoc with his systems in a whole new way than he was used to. Charlie was even starting to grow wet, all over his body, and his field rushed up to meet it more quickly than he was ready for. He gasped, tried to online his optics and meet Charlie's gaze, give him warning-  
  
"I-I was... inadequately prepared." Chase panted, "I may overload soon..."  
  
"I don't blame you," Charlie grunted. Those calipers were really working him over, rolling along his dick one way while he was pulling out another. "You just let it happen. Gonna come inside you."  
  
"Inside me, please..."  
  
Chase pulled one hand away from Charlie's back and brushed it against the rim of his valve.  
  
Overload hit. Every caliper pressed down, every circuit surged from his spark outward, and Chase holler as his head fell strutlessly back. Charlie buried his face in Chase's neck, holding his head close with one hand as he came inside his partner. So hot, too tight for him to handle this time, and the sounds of the quiet and stoic chase coming undone just from him... just for him...  
  
They slumped together and nearly slid off the couch, towel and all. Chase dug his feet into the floor and cradled an exceedingly boneless Charlie in his lap, gratefully stroking the human's spine. Charlie, flattered, kissed Chase's cheek.  
  
"Felt good," he growled.   
  
"Felt very good," Chase breathed. "I believe we are due a brief period of rest, and then... another attempt?"   
  
"Yeah... somewhere not the sofa, though." Oh, the legs. "Don't think the knees can take it."   
  
"Indeed. I am not as young as I used to be."   
  
"You're one to talk..."   
  
They'd move... eventually. The night was still young.

 


	6. Meanwhile, back with Heatwave at the pub crawl...

"Look at you," Heatwave mused to himself. "I was wondering where you'd gone to."   
  
Heatwave's friend, the mechanical bull, huffed and scanned him fast. Memory files registered him friend, despite the flaming red of his paint job, and it nuzzled Heatwave's outstretched hand.   
  
Heatwave, for the first time tonight, felt like he'd found a real friend. Three bars so far, none of them with anything to do other than TV and video poker. And the stares, everyone staring at him, especially Kade in a really angry sort of way if Heatwave got too many compliments. He'd never grouse about being ignored ever again... for the next week, at least.   
  
The bull bumped him for more pets, another quirk of his reprogramming, and Heatwave gave him a little smile. "Good boy."  
  
"HEY! Mechanical bull!"   
  
Kade pushed his way between the two, grabbing the ride by the horns. "All right! I'm takin' you for a spin!"   
  
"You think you can handle him?" asked Heatwave. His arms crossed tight; Kade wouldn't even let him have this. "He's tough enough to throw me." Emphasis on "me", him, Heatwave, the full-sized Cybertronian, the one the bull tossed into a building. Easily.  
  
"I'll be fine! It's just another mechanical bull since he was fixed. Hey, ladies!" Kade called to the crowd, and Heatwave could pick out the one that had followed Kade from various bars (and the one disheartened man that Kade had to politely turn down, Heatwave felt a little bad for him and comforted him and now the guy was following him, eugh) and the ones that had tuned in recently. "Watch this! Kade Burns is about to tame the wild beast!"   
  
"More like 'bust the wild oats'," Heatwave grumbled.  
  
"If that's a dig at the safety of my nutsack, I'll be fine." Kade was already putting tokens into the bull, enough for about three rides. "Don't be jealous just because you don't have any."   
  
"Mine are internal."  
  
That got him a bewildered look the likes of which Heatwave had never seen before. Heatwave smirked. "Gotcha."  
  
Kade huffed and returned to the tokens. "Fuck off."   
  
Heatwave growled. "If I had stayed home I could have..."  
  
Kade was already straddling the mechanical monster. "You say something?"  
  
The Rescue Bot gulped. "Not to you."   
  
"Good." Kade grabbed on tight to the handles and threw his left arm into the air. Oh, he was sorry, was he flexing and making all the dudes angry and all the ladies say "Oo!"? Too bad for the dudes! He was just that good, oh yeah.  
  
The bull cycled up, moving its bulk side to side before jumping straight up. Kade totally had this! He was tough, he had killer legs, and this was a LOT more fun than the old kind! Bigger range of motion- woah, thinking too much, his head got a little low there- played music while he was ridi- okay he needed to get his le-  
  
The bull sensed weakness on the left side and bounded up. Kade lost his grip and went right over the safety fence, over the crowd, head-over-heels. "WHA-"  
  
"Kade!" Hydraulics fired, and Heatwave leaped over the scattering crowd and caught Kade before he could hit the ground. He should've guessed this would happen, but with the reprogramming- "What did you set the difficulty to?!"  
  
"Wh- maximum! What does-"   
  
The firetruck snarled and set Kade back on his feet. "Stay here before it jumps the fence!"   
  
Lost to his programming, and calibrated for Kade's weight and now very much lacking it, the bull bounced higher with each leap and came dangerously close to smashing down the barrier fence around his enclosure. Horns clipped the metal and fire breath rendered the bars red hot to the touch. Heatwave had to time this just right.  
  
One leap and a hard swing upwards, Heatwave landed in the bull's saddle and grabbed hold of both handlebars in one hand. The other arm kept pulled against the bull's momentum; where it jumped to the edge, Heatwave leaned to the center, wrangling it back to the starting zone as the bar emptied.

 

The last human vacated, and the bull finally came to a standstill. "Yee-haw partner! Insert more tokens to continue the ride!"   
  
Deja vu. Heatwave gave the bull one last little pat. "No thanks. Good boy." He climbed off of a bull and walked into an empty bar, quiet but for TVs and a jukebox, and one fuming Kade standing in the middle of a minefield of spilled beer and nacho trays.  
  
"... thank you." Kade brushed some imaginary dust off his... arms. He wouldn't meet Heatwave's optics, nearly snarling and trying to hide it. "That was..."   
  
"Lemme guess. Humiliating? Spotlight stealing?" growled Heatwave. Was Kade really going to pull the "stop making me look bad" card now? Heatwave had half a processor to transform and roll for home, Chase's private time or not.  
  
"... yeah." Kade grumbled. "But you were doing your job."  
  
They stood in silence. Words were forming in Heatwave's processor, but not making it to his mouth. Kade swallowed hard, trying to keep his thoughts at bay until they sounded friendlier. Both of them, arms crossed, back straight, shoulders out. Waiting.  
  
Kade spoke first, rushed to action by the staff coming in to clean up while the customers mingled outside. He still couldn't look Heatwave in the eye, not yet. Everything felt too complicated. "You're not... having fun, are you?"   
  
"No." Heatwave waited, not sure if this was too much information, but... "Not since I got here. I don't like human women, I can't process your high grade, and there's nothing else to do."   
  
"Yeah, I could've... could've figured that out. At home." Kade's shoulders fell. "Before we left. Sorry."   
  
"... I didn't really try to tell you, either." Heatwave dropped his optics as Kade tried to meet his. "Not much of a talker. I'm sorry too."   
  
There was too much space between them. Kade walked in, filled the gap. His arms uncrossed, finally, letting a little blood back into his hands again. There were red marks where he'd gripped his elbows. "You wanna go home?"   
  
"No," Heatwave answered fast. "There's a whole night left. What else can we do?"   
  
"Uh... shit, everything else to do is for little kids." Kade rubbed the back of his neck. "The stupid fair, people's personal parties, trick or treating... friggin' Blades is probably enjoying the hell out of trick or treating."   
  
Heatwave scoffed fondly. "Probably."  
  
That familiar scoff. Kade was reminded of when he was a younger man, a strapping young teenager who'd shadow Dani and his brothers until they didn't expect it, jumping out in his scariest wolf man costume and shrieking like a banshee. Oh, how they'd jump... "... you wanna go find Dani and the kids and hide in the bushes and scare them?"   
  
The night wind howled, and the humans filed back in, and Heatwave felt the smile blossom out from his spark before it reached his face. "How was scaring Blades not your first suggestion?"   
  
The tension shattered like grass and blew away like dead leaves. Kade pumped his fist in triumph. "All right! The full Halloween experience, big brother style!"  
  
Heatwave's fists clenched in excitement, leaning in conspiratorially to whisper, "You think we can sneak out of here and roll out?"   
  
"Absolutely! You gonna let me ride on your back like a Power Wheels truck?"   
  
"You tell anyone else I let you, and you're toast. Let's roll!"   
  
He nearly thought he might get away with blackmail material; but as the two of them bolted out the door, Heatwave taking his wrist to lead him through the crowd, by God, Kade fucking giggled. They could both just leave this part of the night out of both their stories.   
  
Next stop, suburbia...

 


	7. Meanwhile, back at the haunted hay ride with Blades...

The night wind blew through a natural tunnel of trees, into the town maple orchard and out into the field for the haunted hay ride. Lit with a long string of orange lights and plaster pumpkins, it was the perfect mix of cozy and comfortable and just spooky enough to scare the littlest children and Blades if the farmer sneaked up behind them and rattled a tree branch. Volunteers paraded up and down the line, entertaining folks with spooky zombie paint and roaring chainless chainsaws. Blades would hide behind Dani until they were gone, and they'd laugh, and he'd calm down, repeat on loop.  
  
The line for the haunted hayride was long, not because of a crowd, but because of the lengthy turnover period. Frankie, Cody, Blades, and Dani were up for the next ride, but the waiting still felt like ages. Frankie and Cody spent most of the time complaining, each with only one tally each for their bet after a too-short half hour of trick or treating.  
Frankie growled out loud. "All I'm saying is that my costume shouldn't be so hard to guess!"  
  
"I'm kind of surprised, too," Cody answered, irritated for the both of them but not enough to growl. "I mean, you even have a proper red bow tie!"   
  
"Is it because I'm a girl?" Frankie asked no one. "I can't be Bill Nye the Science Guy just because I'm not a boy? That's not fair! At least you get a scooter to ride on," Frankie pouted.  
  
"I don't like having the scooter!" Cody leaned forward as far as he could. The front of his cardboard "air car" crumpled against the ground, like it had done for every single house on the route. "The scooter broke my costume!"   
  
"Act- you know what, don't worry about it." Blades twiddled his fingers loud enough for them to clank together. "Why not throw away the car part?"   
  
"Because then I'm just a policeman and that's too easy to guess! It wouldn't be fair!" Cody REALLY wanted candy, but not bad enough to cheat! Francine had a good costume idea, and she should get a fair shot at winning. It wouldn't be right to cheat her out of her work just because he b- his scooter broke his costume.  
  
Frankie softened. "Aaaw... thanks Cody. Maybe if we traded?" She pulled her bowtie loose in a few well-practiced swipes, passing it to Cody. "Maybe I can put it on you and you could be 'a policeman that accidentally stepped into the Tardis'?"  
  
"Oh my GOD, you bunch of NERDS!" Dani howled. Blades laughed, and Dani continued. Anything to get Blades to stop wringing his hands and whimpering at every shadow. "King and Queen Nerd! Of the Geek Dynasty!"  
  
Blades had to think about that one for a minute. "Wait, don' t you have to be an emperor to rule over a dynasty?"  
  
"What if it's a Duck Dynasty?" Frankie teased. Dani growled out loud again, and Blades laughed out loud.   
  
The copter gave a small sigh and relaxed fully. The volunteers had been leaving him alone for a long while, the farmer had stopped scaring him completely, and the kids were getting along. Halloween felt nice again. He was pretty sure he could get used to this holiday, as long as it stayed peaceful and quite and nice like this.   
  
Little legs crawled up his back, and a voice in his ear rumbled "sspiiiidersss"!   
  
"AAAH!"   
  
Blades jumped straight up and hit the ground hard and ITCHY WITH SPIDERS... until he realized that the laughing was coming from Heatwave and Kade, not a maniacal murdering madman.  
  
"YOU!" Blade stood at straight up as he could, right up in Heatwave's face, the meanie! "I was just getting comfortable, you- You- YOU OAF! GRRR!"

 

While Blades quickly put the smack-down on Heatwave's head, Kade rejoined his family. "Sup, weiners?"   
  
"Hey, Kade!" Cody greeted him warmly, but he wasn't about to hug Kade with his shirt off. Eew. Also, the smell was just starting to reach him. Cody and Frankie both put their shirts over their noses. "Eeeew! You stink!"   
  
"Yeah, you smell like beer and Granmama," Dani snarked. "What happened?"   
  
"Heatwave didn't like the club scene, so we left." Kade gestured to Heatwave, cowering under Blades's powerless punching but still laughing up a storm. "I think he missed his buds."  
  
A farmer called out. "Next twenty!"   
  
Frankie gasped. "Come on the ride with us, Heatwave! There's a big family behind us, and they should all go on together."  
  
The begging started loud and insistent and increasingly high pitched and "pleeeaaase" and Heatwave knew he was going to say yes even before they started; but by the time they were all loaded on the trailer, the kids felt accomplished and the Rescue Bots were comfortable. Frankie and Cody sandwiched themselves between the two bots and giggled in delight.  
  
"You gonna be okay, Mr. Scaredy-Bolts?" Kade kidded.   
  
"I suppose getting scared is inevitable, at this point." Blades thought about it for a moment. "But I'm perfectly safe, right? That's what matters?"   
  
Maybe he'd jinxed it. Maybe he'd spoken too soon, but a zombie came out of the woods wielding a roaring chainsaw. After being scared by them all night, this one seemed different. Different in a bad way. Maybe it was that the zombie was one of the same teenagers that had grabbed him earlier, or maybe it was the fact that he was too small to handle the chainsaw in his hands. He didn't know, at the time. Didn't occur to him.  
All he knew was that the chainsaw came out of the woods and wiggled just out of the teenagers hands.   
  
All that mattered was that it still had a chain, and was headed for Frankie and Cody.  
  
Without thinking, he caught it in his hand. The teeth ground against his fingers and palm, chipping and falling into the hay while Heatwave pulled Frankie and Cody out of the way. Blades scanned for the nearest solid object and threw the chainsaw into a tree, where it sliced in halfway and stuck with a shower of sparks and grinding gears.  
  
"YOU IDIOT!" a parent screamed, "You could have killed those kids!"  
  
While the teen was being swarmed with terrified and angry parents, the Burns family escaped out the other side of the trailer with Cody and Frankie held tight in Heatwave's arms.   
  
"Okay..." Dani panted after a quick check of Cody and Frankie's face and necks. "That... is not normal... Halloween... stuff."  
  
"You were flawless, Blades, you just grabbed the thing and tossed it!" Kade stole a quick glance to Blades's hand. "Didn't that hurt?"   
  
Blades checked his hands over; a few surface cuts, but nothing down to the protoform. "I will have to get a few scratches filled... are you all okay?"   
  
Cody and Frankie nodded, faces pale. Frankie might have tried to speak, but all that came out was a little gasp.  
  
"I think," Blades said with authority, "We can call that the scare quota for the night."  
  
Trick or treating, by comparison, went much better, and the moon rose high. Halloween crept on.

 


	8. Meanwhile, back at the punkin' chunkin' contest with Boulder...

To Boulder's horror, there was a man sabotaging the cannons!  
  
Boulder ran as fast as he could, holding out his hand to the man. "Excuse me, sir! The contest is in two minutes! You can't tamper with those!"  
  
"Tamper, nothing!" The man seemed far too happy to see him for a saboteur. He even waved to Boulder. "Little girl payed me $200 bucks to fix up her little gun!"   
  
"Little girl?" Boulder checked the number on the device. Number 6. Priscilla. "She didn't happen to be wearing a little pink dress, did she?"   
  
"Yeah! With a beanbag cat on her head, too! Crazy costume! I don't know where the kids today get this stuff!" The man stepped back, letting Boulder survey his work. "Good thing she paid ahead, too, 'cause this was a wreck! Looked like she took it apart to get it here and tried to put it back together herself."   
  
Boulder's smile faded. "But, that would mean she didn't build it in the first place. If she had-"  
  
"Yeah, I know, her mom or dad probably built it for her at home. Hey, we can't all be engineers!" He gave Boulder a stiff pat on the shoulder, all smiles and sincere goodwill. "That's what I get paid to do! Besides, s'just a little contest. It doesn't matter who wins or who loses."   
  
The Mayor announced the beginning of the contest from center stage. Boulder wondered aloud, "No... maybe it doesn't."  
  
Pumpkins filled the air. Painted pumpkins, whole pumpkins, carved pumpkins, and in one case pumpkins on fire and the crowd just loved those. The machines went in categories; catapults, trebuchets, cannons, and finally miscellaneous. Boulder was particularly fond of the Hover Club's setup of using hoverboard repulsors to fling the pumpkin, even if it didn't go very far. As the clean up bots came back with the reports, Boulder pointed out the one that went the farthest, Number 6, and added a small note by the entry. Machines collected, Mayor Luskey took the stage.  
  
"And the winner for first place is... Number 17!"  
  
Boulder placed a medal around the leader of the winning team, the professor of mechanical engineering at the local college, and awarded the trophy to his two students who helped him make it. He waved them off the stage along with their chant of "Ex-tra cred-it! Ex-tra cre-dit!", proud as could be.  
  
An insistent little hand tugged on his arm. Boulder smiled, in a triumphant way, before he put on his more friendly face and turned to an extraordinarily angry Priscilla Pinch. "Hello, there."

 

"YOU cheated me!" Priscilla snarled. "I had the longest distance and-"  
  
"And you obtained that by paying someone else to fix your machine." Boulder patted her shoulder, glad that she would let him- but very aware that he was pushing her boundaries to the breaking point-, and pointed out, "I caught them in the act, and reported you to the judges. You could still compete, but you were disqualified from winning."  
  
"What?! He didn't even try to be sneaky? Give me my money back!"   
  
"How?" Boulder shrugged. "I didn't accept your bribe."  
  
What followed was a very long growl, which morphed into a scream. Priscilla stamped the ground and pulled at her hair and hollered, turning in circles and carrying on for, Boulder timed it, 48 seconds. People stared. Parents pulled children away. Boulder waited, and waited, until Priscilla was panting and tired and frazzled and still.   
  
He asked, "Are you all right, Miss Pinch?"   
  
"... no." Priscilla pulled her hair back, trying to smooth the kinks she yanked into it.   
  
"Do you need me to find your mom?"   
  
"My mom's not here." Priscilla's voice dropped in shame, in secrecy, and Boulder leaned in closer. "She didn't want to come to this stupid fair. She just told me to be the best at everything and call her when I'd won something."   
  
Boulder's spark broke a little. "And then she'd come bring you home?"   
It was a long time before Priscilla answered. "No..."   
  
The massive bot held out his hand. "Why don't you do the zombie walk with me? I think Graham has a comb you can use to fix your hair." He gave the little girl his biggest smile. "I really like your costume."   
  
"Thanks..." Priscilla caught herself before she could wipe her eyes. "I need tissues, too. My mascara might run."   
  
"I'm sure we can find you tissues and a mirror."   
  
Priscilla put her little hand in his, and Boulder stood, guiding her back to Graham and Doc Greene. He couldn't wait to tell the team about his night. Right now, he felt like a real hero.

 


	9. Charlie and Chase continue to enjoy their night...

Chase took the momentary pause in the activities to dip back into his research, and several of the first result brought to light the condition of "snacks". Humans needed nutrient replenishment after strenuous activities. As Chase had access to the normal kitchen, it would only be polite to fix a snack for Chief Burns while he rested. He rearranged the chief on the couch so he could rest comfortably and adjourned to the cooking area.  
  
Hmm... scanning the kitchen proved too much for his scanners. Too much metal interference from the various utensils. Instead, he had to physically search the cabinets for his options: pans, pots, plastic bowls, and a odd device he identified as a "microwave bacon cooker" via the instructions printed on the bottom.  
  
Chief Burns often spoke of his love of bacon.  
  
Chief Burns and his tickling sensory hairs and his very warm kisses and his-  
  
Chase shivered as his panel opened on its own. It appeared he was still cycled up from their first tryst. Maybe he should... no, he would hold off on self-servicing until Chief was entirely out of commission. Until then, he could control himself. Back to the task at hand. The "microwave bacon cooker" would be of no use without the microwave- yes the microwave was here- and the bacon.  
  
A search of the refrigerator resulted in raw bacon.   
  
Tonight was a series of magnificent events.  
  
While the texture of the bacon was disagreeable, Chase was able to load them up easily enough. Charlie would hopefully be agreeable to this "snack" and find his energy replenished in short order.   
  
Perhaps, Chase thought, he would be rewarded in some fashion. Perhaps the Chief would go another route, and instead of a reward, he would receive some measure of discipline. Perhaps his hands wound be bound. Chase swallowed. He would have to be leaned over the nearest surface for his comfort. Perhaps Chief Burns would deny him even that, instead bending him over and rutting him into the floor, face down on the ground-  
  
Perhaps Chase was standing too close to the counter, as his spike deployed and popped painfully against the drawer filled with spatulas. "Ow." It was gone quickly enough, metal knocking against wood, but it was enough to distract him. Chase, in his little corner with the microwave and the bacon. He had to concentrate. Snacks for Chief Burns. Bacon. Cooker in the microwave.  
  
Hands on his hips. "Whatcha doin' there, Chase?"   
  
Chase wondered if his scanners would have caught the chief's approach, or if he was simply so distracted that he never heard him wake up in the first place. "I am preparing a 'snack' for you," he answered without turning his head. He was, admittedly, a measure embarrassed to have been caught in the process of preparing. "I have read that humans enjoy refueling breaks after sex."  
  
"Well, we do." Charlie settled fully against his back, pressing a hot spike between Chase's legs. "I prefer a juice box, though."  
"Oh dear."  
  
"Just because I'm lazy afterwards, Chase, don't worry about it." Charlie's hands wandered, mapping out Chase's hips from side to front and up his belly. "I've been watchin' you cook from the living room."   
  
Chase asked after some consideration, "Do you find my efforts satisfactory?" His hands twitched. How bothersome that he could not think of a way to properly reciprocate.  
  
"I'm touched, Chase. And relieved you didn't try to use the stove." Charlie palmed his spike from the bottom and ran his hands along it, from base to tip and back down again. Chase's knees shook. "Been watching this pop back out, too."   
  
Chase whimpered after some consideration, "Aaah..."  
  
"Thinking of me? And what we're gonna do together?" Charlie kissed him, on the center of his upper back, and Chase jolted. "... well?"   
  
"Y-yes sir..."

 

"Round two." Charlie pulled on his hips, stepping back slightly. "I want you bent over. No, not that much, just enough- here." Charlie puts his hands on Chase's back and guided him until he was only slightly over the counter, hands keeping him steady by gripping the edge. "Perfect. And bend your legs just a little." He did. "Now we're even."  
  
Chase asked, looking over his shoulder to the chief. "Is this retribution for something?"   
  
"No," Charlie admitted, "You're just taller than me. I couldn't reach."   
Chase gave him a well-meaning smile. "I understand. Do you wish me to reciprocate?"   
  
"No, your hands are covered in bacon fat."   
  
Chase turned away from Charlie's gaze, if only to allow himself a wide, amazed smile. Being denied touching him. Bent over. Chase had nearly called everything about this moment. He felt the urge to brag, but it would have been uncouth.   
  
"Speaking of, put it on six minutes."   
  
"Yes, sir."   
  
Chase had barely begun to lift his hand before a finger slipped into his valve. "Ah!" He nearly covered his mouth before he remembered the bacon fat, and instead bit down on his knuckle.   
  
Charlie smirked, still wiggling that happy finger. "I didn't tell you to stop."  
  
"Yes, sir!" He could accomplish this. Compartmentalize. The one, quickly becoming two fingers in his valve were one stimulation. The microwave was another. Enter 'six minutes'. Button number six- Charlie turned his fingers in Chase's valve, coating it with lubricant for his entry- was pressed. Button number zero was pressed- Charlie's other hand ran over his spike- twice. "S-sir..."  
  
"Keeeep at it," Charlie encouraged. "You're doing good. Nice and wet." Charlie gave his aft a fast swat, and while Chase cooed at the feeling, Charlie hissed. "Ow. Metal. Hang on." Another quick thump against his aft; the chief was angling his hand differently. It wasn't a full-palmed slap, and it was slightly less forceful. Chase found it to be to his liking, and demonstrated by clasping at Charlie's fingers. "There we go. Start it up."  
  
Chase pressed the start button, and Chief Burns entered him.   
  
Chase very nearly lost the strength in his arms, too quick to buckle under and let Chief have his way with him. He had not been given permission, however, so he locked his elbows in place and rolled his calipers down his partner's spike as he started to set a rhythm. He was not as nervous as he was on their first attempt, and did not reflexively clench. Chase kept himself open and accomodating, nudged his hips up where Charlie pressed down, working the two of them together.  
  
It wasn't until he heard Charlie laughing, and wondered why, that he realized he was making noises; little moans and gasps and a small laugh when he caught himself.

 

"Feels good, doesn't it?" With one hand gripped on Chase's hip, Charlie stroked his free one down Chase's back firmly. Chase bowed underneath him, tilting his hips up further and letting Charlie in deeper. "Ever had a man inside you before?"   
  
"N-not a human one, sir," Chase responded weakly. Charlie breathed a long, luxurious breath before he kissed the back of Chase's neck. It wasn't fair, making him compare and highlighting all the differences in his CPU, now he was simply more aware of how good the chief felt in him and how different and warm. Chase's valve tightened as he shivered.   
Charlie pressed in close to him, wrapping his arms around Chase's waist, resting his head against his shoulder. Chase's EM field flexed around the chief's body in a show of gratitude. "So, how do I feel?"   
  
Chase's lights flickered. "So different... but enjoyably so. I like your... arms." He also liked his natural oils, his little hairs, his voice, his arms he said his arms already Chase was resting on a plateau of pleasure. He needed more. "Pl- please sir may I have permission to touch you?"   
  
"No," Charlie said with a smirk. "Bacon fat."  
  
He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "May I have permission to touch myself?"  
  
"Oh-ho-ho, no," Charlie laughed. "You ask permission for me to touch you. Now, what would you like?"   
  
Systems began to fall into the red. Chase's legs were tired, and his elbows were sore. The pleasure rising up from his valve was countered by the ache in his fingers from gripping the counter. "To be touched, sir."   
Charlie swatted his aft. Chase's elbows started to give way. Charlie's grin was wide and far too self-satisfied. "Done. Anything else?"   
  
"I-I woul- I would-" Chase swallowed hard as his circuits fired. "I would like for you to touch my spike, sir. Please."  
  
"You want me to rub it?" Charlie didn't bother to wait for an answer, he simply did, palming over the smooth seams of his spike and fingering the head with the pad of his thumb. He kept talking, his voice deep and husky, "You want me to pull on it and squeeze it?"   
  
What he had wanted was just an extra touch to extend his pleasure, but Chase was quickly getting to the point of overload from overstimulation. As if to tease him even further, Chief's thrusts quickly switched to faster, more erratic strokes. Chase's calipers cycled down hard. "Sir!"   
  
Charlie growled on his shoulder, pulled him close, and with a strong, organic pulse of heat overloaded inside him. Chase held him tightly inside as his partner's other hand gave him three hard pumps, triggering his own overload and a release of cooling fluids from within his valve and out the tip of his spike. Chase's systems surged, and with a wave of exhaustion from all parts of him, he fell forward onto the counter.   
  
At some point, he supposed, the bacon finished cooking.  
  
"Oh... look at that," remarked the chief. Charlie departed him, and Chase grunted softly as his valve closed on nothing. The human stepped back and looked between his legs. "Did that happen the first time?"  
  
Perhaps Chase would... stay with his face in the counter for a while. "Ah, no sir. I switched that off our first time together, so as not to make an excessive mess."  
  
"I wish I could say I was wondering about that, but... kinda didn't care much at the time."   
  
Chase's spike retracted and his panels shut. Charlie kissed his neck once more. Chase smiled and stood straight up. "Chase, if you knew half the stains I've had to clean up. You're fine. It's just an oil, right? If anything, it'll make the cabinets look shiny and new again. You get it off the floor, and I'll get the rest, and we can both grab a snack."  
"I do find myself exceedingly tired, sir. And low on energy."   
  
"You have a knack for putting yourself in sexy poses," Charlie joked. "Next time, let's try in a bed. And remember to turn your stuff off."  
  
Kitchen cleaned and food reheated, as well as energon processed, Chase and Charlie Burns shared a fast little snack and a fast shower each. The moon hung high.

 


	10. Meanwhile, back with Heatwave and Blades...

It was getting noticeably cold. Lights stayed on, and small children simply faded out to be replaced by slightly less small children. Halloween soldiered on, but to Cody and Frankie, it was getting very hard to do the same. Frankie had given Cody her lab coat to keep him warm, and the two of them huddled close on Cody's scooter as they hit the last few houses.   
  
And it WAS the last few houses, thank you.  
  
"Pleeaaase, Dani, can we stay out?" Cody begged. "It's barely even 8:30!"  
  
"No. You're both getting droopy," Dani fussed, and fussed faster than she had meant to. Something was keeping her temper short. "And I don't wanna spend any more time looking at Kade's nipples than I have to."   
  
Immediately flustered, Kade covered up his bare chest and blushed bright red. "Then stop looking at them!"  
  
Frankie whined, "But I'm not tired!" She did look substantially less tired than Cody, but not by much. While her eyes were alert, she was just as shivery and staggering as Cody was when they got off the scooter.   
  
"What? Really? How?" Dani scoffed.  
  
"I've been eating my candy."   
  
Cody woke up out of a small daze in a panic. "Wait, since when?!"   
  
Frankie rolled her eyes. "Since we decided that the bet was off five houses ago, duh!"  
  
All bets were literally off, and Cody immediately dug into his candy bag and stuffed his face with three peanut butter cups at once, Frankie doing the same in a fit of glee.   
  
"That being said, don't you humans usually refuel by now?" Blades and Heatwave shared a calculating look to each other. "Maybe we can find a Windy?"   
  
"Yeah, neither of us are ready to go home," Heatwave pointed out.   
  
"Good for you guys," Dani growled, "You don't need to ea- ... we haven't eaten dinner."  
  
Kade stopped rubbing his arms for a moment to think. "Oh yeah, we haven't. I didn't eat anything on the pub crawl, either."   
  
"A refueling break, and we'll keep going," said Heatwave. A cold wind blew over his optics, stinging them. "How many more houses cou-"   
  
"Wait a minute." Cody swallowed a painful-looking mouthful of candy and sniffed at the air. Each little snuffle raised his nose higher, made his smile grow. "I smell corn dogs."  
  
Frankie followed suit. "Oo, I do too! And funnel cake! Smell the sugar?"  
  
The Rescue Bots looked on in utter confusion as the Burns family all raised their noses to the winter wind and grinned. Blades tried to copy for a moment, and while he could detect... stuff, it wasn't stuff he was tuned to detect. Heatwave was probably having the same issue: Blades's olfactory sensors could detect smoke, noxious chemicals, acids, bases, dangerous things. But volatile fatty acids and singed proteins? Not so much.  
  
"And pumpkin pie!" Kade shouted. "From the contest! Halloween fair!"   
  
"We must've gone the long way 'round this year!" With the promise of food so close she could already taste it (or maybe she was just that hungry), Dani's mood immediately perked. "Okay, new plan! Two more houses, and then we give up and go to the carnival!"   
  
Frankie and Cody shared a lightning-fast, candy-fueled look, pointed to a house, and screamed, "THAT ONE!"  
  
They pointed to a house lit up in orange, screaming witches and howling cats echoing out from a shadowed garage. Inflatable ghosts and whirring robotic zombies pawed at unsuspecting, laughing, shrieking treat or treaters. Adults went into the garage; screaming humans came out.

Calls of "haunted house!" and "That one!" and "Please!" erupted from Cody and Frankie.  
  
Blades took a half-step behind Heatwave... and poked his head back out again. "What is that?"  
  
Dani explained, "It's a haunted garage. The owners of the house make a little maze with tight walkways and blind corners, and they jump out and try to scare you with it. That's Jerry's house, too, and they always give kids who make it through the whole house full-sized candy bars."   
  
"Me and my buddies used to change costumes and go through a bunch of times!" Kade bragged. "That candy would last us for months!"   
  
It seemed to hang in the air for a while, and nobody was quite sure why. Nobody took note of it at the time.   
  
Blades, amazingly, stepped forward. "Cody, Frankie, if you'll help... I wanna go in."   
  
"NOBLE!" Cody leaped off his scooter and pulled Blades by his arm, Frankie quickly taking the other (and Kade yelling "DIBS!" and jumping on the abandoned scooter). "It'll be great, Blades, just you wait! Maybe there'll even be eyeballs!"   
  
Quicker than Dani could process, Blades had been pulled into the exact thing he hated.  
  
"He... uh- what-" Dani had to slap Heatwave's arm to get his attention, simply because the words wouldn't come out. "The-"   
  
Heatwave just shrugged, not a care in the world, and folded his arms. "Hey, if he wants to get scared, that's his perogative."   
  
And maybe that was the key phrase here, Dani realized as the bundle of children and Bot all spilled out of the haunted garage, laughing and clinging to each other. Blades let out a yelp of "I get it! I finally GET it!" and she knew for sure. It was the first time in the whole Halloween where Blades LET himself be scared, entirely of his own free will. The three came back with a candy bar each, and Dani nodded with pride.  
  
"The full experience."   
  
"If you had told me there were safe zones," Blades chirped in excitement, "I would've gone there first! Who wants to get scared out on the street where it's dangerous when there's these neat little houses?"   
  
"Now that you ask, I couldn't tell you." Dani shouted to Kade. "BRING THE SCOOTER BACK, we're goin' to the fair!"  
  
Kade hollered back, in the middle of a figure eight, "We can't all ride the scooter! I called dibs!"   
  
"You and Kade should get a turn," Cody suggested, "Me and Frankie have been riding it all night."   
  
"Well, yeah," Dani noted, "But it's easier for us to keep up with it than you."   
  
"That won't be a problem!" Cody held his arms up to Kade. "Heatwave! Gimme a piggyback ride!"   
  
"YEAH, piggyback ride!" Frankie echoed.   
  
Heatwave, flummoxed, turned to Dani. "Pigga-what now?"   
  
In the dark of night, in the clear moonlight, an interesting silhouette painted the horizon. A burly pirate and a pilot sharing a scooter, zipping ahead of two humanoid robots carrying happy, screaming children on their shoulders, running in a full sprint to catch up with the scooter ahead. The night buzzed with mirth as the Science-o-Ween Fair grew brighter, louder, and more importantly, fuller with food.

 


	11. Meanwhile, back with Boulder and Priscilla...

"On your marks! Get set!" Luskey dropped the flag. "SHUFFLE!"   
  
The hoard of zombies and one Rescue Bot, and about three vampires, and one sumo wrestler, an- The hoard of mostly zombies shuffled forward, except for one little child in a little pink dress. She sprinted into the lead and got out a few feet in front of the crowd before a massive eruption of angry townspeople stopped her in her tracks.   
  
"What are you doing?!" "Why are you running?" "Spoil sport!" "Get back here with the rest of us!" and a lot of indisciminating boos. Priscilla froze in place, shocked and humiliated and very pale, until Boulder waved her over to his side. She dodged a great many dirty glances as she joined him in the middle of the crowd.  
  
Boulder had on his best robot/zombie walk: arms forward, legs locked, just like Cody taught him. He met Priscilla with a smile. "Nice to see you again."   
  
"Hi, Mary." Priscilla folded her arms tight across her chest and said nothing more.  
  
It wasn't hard to figure out what she'd tried, though. Boulder ventured a guess, "You were trying to win the zombie walk, right?"   
  
Priscilla nodded. "I might as well win something."   
  
"There's no prize for coming in first, you know."   
  
"Winning is winning," Priscilla parroted. "I get the satisfaction of knowing I'm better than everybody else."   
  
Boulder gave it a little thought. "I do like it when I win at a game I'm playing with friends. I'm not very competitive like you are, though."  
  
Priscilla smirked and stood up a little straighter. "That's where you'll fail in life. You'll never make yourself a success unless you're the absolute best in everything you do."   
  
"On the contrary, actually," Boulder stated. "I didn't get the very best grades in the Academy, but I still got a nice job as an engineer with workmates I enjoy spending time with."  
  
"You did?!" Priscilla caught herself shouting and lowered her voice, minding the stares. "But- but my mom said-"   
  
"Your mom is probably very competitive as well," Boulder surmised. "And that's fine. But I think she might be telling you a very biased opinion of how things work in the world." Boulder shrugged a little, speaking softly. "I think that tonight, you might want to leave being competitive at home and just enjoy Halloween with some of your friends."   
  
Priscilla's face twisted with uncertainty, and Boulder could almost hear the words before she could say them. 'I don't have any friends,' she might say. He'd heard that story so many times in his academy days, from overachieving students that became nervous, lonely wrecks. Blades was almost one, the poor thing, as prone to stress as he was. Boulder saw a lot of his team in the little Pinch, and what a nice person she could grow up to be if someone steered her right.  
  
As he expected, Priscilla sadly mumbled, "I don't have any friends."  
  
"But we're friends," Boulder asked. "Aren't we, Miss Pinch?"   
  
Priscilla didn't look at him. In fact, she very intently looked in the other direction. Soon, a little hand reached out to him, and he took it between his fingers.   
  
Boulder grinned. "Let's do something fun together, before the fair's ov-"  
  
"THIS!" Heatwave jumped in front of the hoard of mostly zombies, powered up and energized. "Is my BOOM STICK!"   
  
He sprayed the zombies with harmless cool steam, to the delight of the crowd. Some dropped dead, some ran, some insistently staggered forward until Heatwave "shot" them with his lights, until Mayor Luskey got on a megaphone and yelled at the crowd to "Break it up, BREAK IT UP! Get Ash Williams out of the the line! Everybody back on the track!" The zombies re-converged doubled over with laughter, and Boulder brought Priscilla over to a still-grinning Heatwave.  
  
"That," Boulder stated in awe, "Was hilarious, Heatwave."   
  
Heatwave purred, "Groovy."  
  
"Hey, Boulder!"  
  
Cody was between them in an instant, halfway through a foot-long corndog, with the rest of the Burns family in tow. Graham met them on the other side, closing the circle that formed as the extended Burns crew reconnected. Priscilla found herself tugged into the middle by Boulder, unable to escape as everyone chatted at once.

 

"Me and Cody nearly fell asleep but then we got food and now we feel better!" Frankie bit down hard on a big bundle of ribbon fries.  
  
"I found Hayley in the crowd!" Kade waved to Hayley and her chaperoned group of kindergarteners. "If I had known she was here, I woulda come here sooner!"   
  
"That's a lie and you know it," Heatwave snarked. "Blades had the idea to jump out and scare the zombie walk."   
  
Blades hid his face in his hands, embarrassed but proud. "Nooo, it was my idea to use the steam so no one would get really scared! You're the one who remembered the movie."   
  
"I judged the Pie Eating Contestht!" Graham lisped. "It wasth all really lastht minute, but Doc Greene got stho far ahead that he got Sthe-" and then his fangs fell out. "OH NO!"   
  
Boulder asked, "Where's Dani?"   
  
Kade thumbed over to the parking lot. "Riding the scooter. Her feet hurt."   
  
Cody asked, "Why is Priscilla here?"   
  
With that, Priscilla jumped as every eye fell on her. She went flush in the cheeks and stuttered, "Um- u-um-"  
  
"Priscilla and I started talking, and now we're friends," Boulder said plainly.  
  
That was it. Cody shrugged. Frankie looked a bit bemused, but uttered "Okay" and offered Priscilla her plate of fries. Graham was too busy cleaning off his fangs to care much, but probably would not have minded anyway.  
  
Priscilla, in the back of her mind, was so confused by how easily that went that when Cody asked what her costume was, she couldn't even respond. "Um-"  
  
"It looks really familiar," he said out loud.  
  
"I've been thinking that since I noticed her!" Blades blurted out. "I just didn't want to mention it."   
  
"I- my costume's missing a piece." Priscilla dug into her pocket and pulled out her Flip the Cat Beanie baby, putting the pure white toy cat on her head. "Like this. I-"  
  
Before she could complete it, the Burns family roared in agreement. Everyone spoke at once, pointing out this and that and "How accurate!" and "What a nice touch!" and "even the hair!" until Cody, Frankie, Blades, Graham, and Boulder all said-  
  
"You're Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh!"  
  
The moon shined brighter, in Priscilla's eyes. The colors seemed more vivid, the music less annoying and more joyful. Her first real smile of the night split her face nearly in two. She couldn't help but scream, "Mom said I wouldn't get five people to recognize my costume!"   
  
"It was easy with the cat on your head!" Cody cheered. (Heatwave bit his tongue on the fact that he knew from the beginning.) "I bet you coulda won the costume contest with that!"   
  
"I didn't enter!" Priscilla admitted, still smiling and now nearly bouncing up and down with utter joy. "Mom said it'd be pointless! I'm gonna call her and tell her what happened, hang on!"   
  
Priscilla whipped out her phone and pulled away from the group to gush to her mother. Boulder shrugged again, just happy she was happy. "Even without being here, her mom's been getting her down all day. I'm glad she found something to be happy about."   
  
"That's Priscilla for you," Cody mused through a mouthful of corn dog. "She's gotta be the best at everything."   
  
Frankie took another bite of fry. "So?"  
  
"Well..." Cody watched Priscilla practically dancing through the remaining zombies, the march all but forgotten. "That includes being happy, I guess."   
  
"What are we gonna do now?" Heatwave asked.   
  
"The only events left are the dance contest and the costume contest," Boulder answered. "And we can't do the costume contest, that'd be cheating."   
  
"Besides that, Cody and Frankie can't enter." Graham had long given up cleaning his fangs and simply put the teeth into his pocket. "It's 18 and above only."  
  
"Yeah, there's a lot of short skirts and 'anatomical humor' in that one," said Kade. Priscilla floated back into the group, phone call finally over. "Let's not."   
  
Cody raised his hand. "Let's do the dance contest!"  
  
"You can't be serious!" Priscilla held tight onto her toy cat. "You need to practice for that! We can't just come up with a dance choreography in ten minutes."   
  
"Unless," Cody said, "We already knew one..."

 


	12. Chase and Charlie's night starts to slowly pull to a close...

"Now that's an ache that's gonna linger." Charlie threw himself into his bed, back first. His hips were already starting to show signs for the night, namely a general red, wide wash across his hips and thighs that proved that slapping himself into metal probably wasn't good for him in the long run. He grinned to himself. "Almost wish I had somebody to brag to."  
  
Chase, standing at the foot of the bed with a look of slight confusion, opened his mouth to say... something before shutting it again. Charlie still caught it.   
  
"You had a thought?"  
  
"I was going to ask why you wished to brag about your pain," Chase explained. "I quickly realized that I would most likely do the same, were I in your situation."  
  
Charlie laughed warmly, patting the empty space beside him. "Come on, Chase, get in." Chase only became more confused, taking a step back from the bed as if it was going to bite him. "What's the matter? Afraid of the box spring?"   
  
"You berth seems to be structurally unsound..." Chase pressed his hand against it to demonstrate. "It does not support your weight fully."   
  
"Human beds have more give to 'em than yours." Charlie didn't know how the bots could sleep in those hard metal containers like they did. Maybe that's why they only slept every other couple of days. He patted, more firmly this time. "Give it a try. If you like it, I'll set you and your team up some air mattresses for the night downstairs."  
  
It was as if Chase had never laid down in his life. He tested the bed each time before he put his full weight on his hands, then his knees, and with every little bit closer he moved to Charlie he shivered. His optics stayed loved on the mattress, waiting for it to betray him, and Charlie just waited, ever patient, smiling. Chase made it to where he was level with Charlie and finally flopped down the rest of the way, burying his face into a pillow, arms tucked under him, ankles crossed.  
  
He just laid there. Charlie's eyebrow rose, baffled.  
  
"... Chase?"   
  
"This is more comfortable than I expected," said Chase into his pillow, as if he was saying the weather forecast had been off by a few degrees.  
  
Charlie rolled onto his belly- "Oo ow ow ow"- and threw an arm around him. "Told you so."   
  
"Are you in serious pain, Chief Burns?" Chase released an arm from underneath him and pulled Charlie in just a little closer, lifting his face up from the pillows to speak clearly. "Should we discontinue our activities for the night?"   
  
"Nah, I'm just old." Although, now that Chase brought it up, and they were finally in the bedroom... "You wanna see what I looked like when I was younger?"

"Indeed!" Chase took his arm back and adjusted himself for picture viewings as Charlie searched through the dresser drawers. On his back and propped against the wall, Chase's optics drifted to Charlie's soft spike and the small bundle of skin behind it. "I have been meaning to ask; what is that round hairy organ underneath your bottom?"   
  
"Them? That's my balls." Charlie wondered a minute about how scientific he should get about them before he decided on 'not very'. "They control my libido."   
  
"Ah. We have those as well. They are internal, however."  
  
The officer huffed in surprise and kept searching. "No shit!"  
  
"We do not have that, correct."  
  
"B'HA!" Charlie nearly slammed his head into the dresser, he started laughing so suddenly. "Oh god-!"  
  
Chase sat upright, hands at the ready to assist. "Are you-"  
  
"I'm fine! I'm fine just- hoo! Ooooh buddy- okay, here's the pictures, just-" Charlie sat back on the bed and rifled through the little stack of photos. "Here. Take a look and let me finish laughing- oh jeez-!"  
  
Chase did look, indeed, although there was not as much of a difference as he had expected from seeing the other Burns family "younger" pictures. The Chief in these images did not look so different from how he looked now. His hair was another color, and his muscles slightly more defined, but otherwise he was similarly built and similarly undressed. Perhaps the only true difference was the presence of a rug in the shape of a bear.   
"You look much the same now as you did then."  
  
"Thank you!" Charlie took two of the pictures and took a happy breath. "I took these for my wife... It was the 70s, and we were both young... and a little exhibitionist."   
  
"Did you frequent clubs?" Chase asked, intrigued.   
  
"Oh, no! We weren't that kind of exhibitionist. Although, sometimes, if we had a close friend over, we might've... left the pictures out, if you know what I mean." Charlie chuckled. "Always 'on accident', but if it lead to fun things, then we could work something you, you see what I'm getting at. It was before the kids were born; we could be a little crazier."   
  
"And the mutual friends?" Chase asked. Had they been crazy as well, they wondered?  
  
Charlie seemed to take the question in a different direction. "Women and men alike. It was my wife who turned me onto the idea, at first. What about you?"

Best to leave the original question's intent left behind, while the Chief was in a sharing mood. Chase returned the pictures politely. "Cybertronians are functional hermaphrodites."  
  
"Oh right, with the-" Chief pointed to his crotch. "With the, uh-"   
  
"Valve, sir."  
  
"With the valve, right."   
  
"And you already know of my predisposition to certain body types over others. Pronouns normally do not come into play."   
  
"Lucky planet..." Charlie leaned back, spread his legs, folded his arms behind his head, got comfortable. Chase sat up a little straighter to catalogue his muscles more effectively. "Tonight's been amazing, Chase. Thank you, for everything."   
  
"And thank you, Chief Burns. If I may be so forward-"  
  
Chase laid his hand on Charlie's knee and traveled it up his thigh, giving him a slight squeeze right where he was tender and red. Charlie winced, and while Chase shared a quick flinch out of sympathy, he did not let go. Charlie felt him cock throb a little, but not enough to be sure. Maybe he didn't have enough in him for another round? "I'll give it a shot, but I'm not sure..."  
  
"Tonight has been taxing, yes. As I was saying, if I may be so forward, I would like to lead."   
  
What a relief. Charlie relaxed immediately and spread his legs farther. Chase took it as an invitation and rolled between them, lying down with his head hovering above Charlie's cock. The Chief grinned. "I'll take you up on that offer."  
  
"Glady, sir. Excuse me a moment."   
  
Chase sucked him into his mouth, and at first, Charlie didn't know what to make of it. It was the same flexing metal component that made up Chase's lips, not the rubbery sheath of his not-a-vagina-but-starts-with-a-"V"-whatever underneath. Chase's oddly shaped mouth couldn't form a complete seal around him, but it did press against him and tongue him softly and coat him with that same Vaseline-y oil. It didn't even feel like his hair was getting caught in the joints, and that was a small miracle by itself.  
  
And then Chase swallowed, something happened, and Charlie nearly kicked Chase in the shoulder. Something- something ZAPPED him, sent warm tingles all the way up his cock and through his spine and- "WHAAA-"  
  
"It seems that your hardware is more sensitive to my EM field than the rest of your body," Chase noted with a full mouth. He pressed his tongue against the firmer spike inside him. "I am pleasantly surprised."  
  
"Did you shock me?!"  
  
"No sir, that was my body's natural response." Chase gave him another hard lick, toying with the head of his piece with his tongue. "You happened to be shocked by it."

 

The tingle was wearing off, and Charlie swallowed hard. "Think you can do it again?"   
  
"Of course. Simply signal me when you wish me to do so."   
  
"All right..." Charlie laughed breathlessly. "I'll sa-AH-"  
  
Chase sent another wave through him, holding onto the base of his cock as he tried to jerk forward. Even Chase was starting to smirk now, and the Rescue Bot laughed as he came down. Chase popped the hardened cock out of his mouth and gave it a parting kiss.  
  
"I said you could signal me." Chase straddled his thighs and hovered over Charlie. "I never said I would comply."  
  
Charlie pulled him down and kissed him, perfect seal be damned he was using his tongue. Chase sat down with a light little "thump" on Charlie's belly.   
  
"Oof!"   
  
Chase broke the kiss. "Sorry."   
  
Charlie writhed under him, digging his feet into the mattress oh MAN he missed doing this in a nice big bed. "You're fine, just- I'm ready now, I wanna be in."  
  
"I am leading, currently." Chase gave him another hard kiss and felt behind him for Chief's piece. "You will have to ask-"   
  
Before he could finish, Charlie had pulled him close, nuzzled his cheek, purred into his ear, "Chase, can I please get inside you and make you feel good?"   
  
Chase's lights flickered, filling Charlie with another pulse of electricity that left his hairs on end.  
  
"You-" Chase took him in his hand and lined him up. "-are very good at that."  
  
They were both at the point where this was familiar and comfortable. Chase's calipers were already adjusted to match him near perfectly. Charlie's hips complained with a little nervous flutter when Chase's ass made contact, but the rest of him was very, very happy. He wasn't as happy when Chase pulled away from him, leaving his chest uncovered and slightly cold. "Oh- hey where are you-"  
  
But the view. Chase very carefully sitting over him, hands spread over his belly for balance, thumbs fluffed into his treasure trail. Slim build, warm not-a-vagina, and that face... Equal parts apologetic and submissive and eyeing him like he was the last sexy man on Earth.  
  
Charlie felt his dick throb, and Chase twitched and smirked in approval. Had he felt that?  
  
He planted his hands on Chase's hips and pushed, pulled, wrenched to the side, tried to get him to move and couldn't because Chase was still made of fucking metal and wouldn't start moving! Chase even chuckled when he tried to buck up into him to little avail. "Chase!"  
  
"Ask," Chase purred, "Politely."

Charlie moaned. Chase clamped down on him. "Please, Chase..."  
  
With one last little tease of his hair, Chase dug his hands into the mattress under his shoulders and rolled his hips. Tight, even circles, perfect like a machine. Charlie didn't know whether to keep his hands on Chase's hips or move them to the sheets; at least on the sheets he could grip them and feel like he was making a difference. Chase was completely unwielding, and while his fingers were sore, the idea that Chase couldn't be stopped until Charlie was cumming hard made him buck up into the bot as hard as he could.  
  
He opened his eyes, must have closed them at some point, to watch. Chase had his optics closed too, with little shutters he'd never seen before, and mouthing something to himself as his body rolled over him. Charlie managed to pull one hand away and pull Chase down to kiss him, getting Chase opening his optics in return and gazing- fucking gazing- into his eyes.  
  
"Come on, you can talk to me," Charlie whispered. Chase shuddered, but his rhythm didn't falter. His field pulsed again. His mouth shut tight. "You can do it. What were you saying?"  
  
Chase shook his head and broke their eye contact before Charlie guided him back. "Don't be shy."   
  
This was doing things to him. The balance of the coy and the shy and the forward and the fucking slap of his hips against metal. Charlie had to muscle down the urge to come, and he pulled Chase closer. "Talk to me. What do you want to say?"  
  
The first attempt was a weak little "Nnnn..." before Chase finally found his words. "Do I... feel good?"  
  
"You feel amazing." Chase thanked him with a little kiss. "Really good."  
  
"You like-" Chase's lights gave another flicker, and he got a lot tighter. Charlie wasn't going to manage much more of this. "- h-how I'm-"  
This was going to be good. Charlie was close. He growled, "Say it."  
  
Chase swallowed. "D-do you like... how I am fucking you-?"  
  
Neither one of them could hold off. Charlie grappled Chase by his shoulders, and Chase pulled up from underneath, mashing them together in time for both their overloads. Electricity crackled, lights flashed, and Charlie gave out one long, low moan while Chase's calipers worked him over one last time.   
  
Both of them were too tired to drag it out further. Chase rolled to the side and snuggled up with Charlie, who got in one last smooch to the head before falling asleep.

 


	13. Meanwhile, back with the Rescue Bots...

It felt like all of the citizens on Griffin Rock suddenly realized that they knew how to dance. The late entry line to the dance contest wasn't moving at all, and that was probably a good thing because no one in the Burns family group could decide what to dance.  
  
"I don't go to the arcade!" whined Priscilla. "I don't even own a Kinect!"   
  
"How can you not own a Kinect?! You're, like, the richest person on Griffin Rock," grumped Frankie, "And you don't even have Dance Central."  
  
"I own STOCK in Microsoft, I don't buy their products, jeesh." Priscilla brushed her hair aside flippantly. "You're the ones who're weird."   
  
"Graham says I'm not old enough to watch Suzumiya Haruhi," said Cody.  
  
Graham retorted, "And you're not."  
  
"We can do the Caipirinha dance!" Blades suggested.  
  
"Or," Heatwave grumped. "We can get out of this line and do something fun instead."  
  
A pause for thought, and the Burnses collectively agreed. Priscilla could only begin to pout before, with a gentle invitation, she was encouraged to just let it go and have fun.  
  
***  
  
The volunteer took a quick look at Heatwave, Blades, and Cody before he talked into his microphone. His eyes hovered over the pre-cowered Blades as he spoke. "Attention scarers, we have a baby in the house. Implement Baby Bypass Plan."   
  
"I am not a baby!" Blades yelped into Heatwave's back. "I can take it!"   
  
Heatwave smirked before he could catch himself. "Let the baby get scared. I haven't been in a single haunted house yet!"   
  
"All right then..." Microphone put away, he opened the door to the Haunted House. He growled in his best voice, "Hunters beware. You're in for a scare..."  
  
"I know that reference!" Cody cheered.   
  
***  
  
"Oh man, the spinny ride's playing 'The Wobble'," remarked Dani. Her temporary corn dog-eating buddy nodded sympathetically. "Remember when we were kids, and it was Britney Spears?"   
  
"Who's the little kid teaching the robot how to dance?" asked her new friend. "Is she supposed to be Samantha Argus?"  
  
"I have no idea who that is, but no." Dani snapped a quick picture of Frankie and Boulder learning "The Wobble". "She's dressed as Bill Nye the Science Guy."  
  
"That guy in the robot suit can groove!"   
  
"He really can!" Dani shouted to the oddly-well-dancing Boulder. "YOU'RE DOIN' GOOD! SHAKE THAT BOULDER, BOOTY!" Wait. "I MEAN STRIKE THAT! REVERSE IT!"   
  
Too late, Frankie and Boulder and the entire spinny ride were already laughing. Dani stuffed her mouth full of corn dog and quietly shuffled away.

"Okay, okay, watch this, Cody." Blades braced his feet and pushed against the light post, making sure it was stable. "You wanna see me do something cool?"   
  
"Yeah!" Cody stepped back a ways as Blades tested the strength of the pole. "Heatwave, you gonna watch?"   
  
"I- uh-" Heatwave coughed and sat down on a curb. "I'm gonna... wait until my legs work again."   
  
"You big baby!" Blades put both hands on the pole and leaned back. "Okay, watch!"   
  
Blades leaped onto the poll. Locking his knees around it, Blades' arms fanned out as he circled around and down before coming to rest on the tips of his rotors. Passers-by clapped. Cody was impressed. "Cool!"  
  
Heatwave applauded. "Still got it, Blades!"   
  
"Yeah. You know what I don't have?" Blades kicked off of the pole and toppled over his rotor blades. "A cool dismount."  
  
***  
  
"So we throw darts at the balloon, and we win a prize."   
  
"Yep!" Cody handed Blades his share of darts. "But it'll be a tiny one."  
  
"Unless we hit the balloon with the big prize ticket, right?" Boulder asked before Blades could. "And then we get one of the big ones?"   
  
"That's right!" Cody aimed loosely, knowing that he'd probably hit one no matter where he threw it. "But nobody hits th-"   
  
Blades had already thrown a dart, and the volunteer checked the paper underneath. "You won a big ticket prize! You can pick a white tiger, a banana with dreadlocks, or a big Scooby Doo!"   
  
"Woah!" Cody shouted.  
  
"I'll take the white tiger, please!" Blades chirped. "I know just who would like it!"   
  
Boulder turned on his auto-target and infrared scanner. He aimed for the next big ticket card. This balloon was under-inflated, so it would be a real challenge! He wondered why humans weren't better at this game.  
  
***  
  
Heatwave pumped his fist. "Can I use my own water cannon?"   
  
"No."   
  
"Frag."  
  
***  
  
"Aaaw, thank you, Blades!" Frankie snuggled her white tiger tight. "I'm gonna name him Benoit Mandelbrot!"   
  
"I don't have a name for my snake yet!" Cody adjusted the super-long stuffed snake over his shoulders. "Got any ideas?"   
  
Graham took both of the toys from the kids. "Either way, you can't bring them on the ride with you. I'll hold them until you two get back."   
  
"Thanks, Graham!" Frankie and Cody dashed onto the Pharoah's Fury, and Graham breathed a sigh of relief. Dodged that bullet. No nausea for him.  
  
***  
  
"So, Hayley," Kade purred, tiny-flexing his pecs. "How long you been her-"   
  
A chorus of seven voices met him on all sides. "SNEAK ATTACK!"   
  
Kade was beset on all sides by a cascade of inflatable rubber hammers, whacking him about his head- wait- WAIT there were 8 hammers!  
  
Hayley reared back with her own inflatable instrument of destruction. "The Hammer is my HAMMER!"   
  
***  
  
"Oh, look, Priscilla's doing the dance contest!" Boulder applauded. "GO PRISCILLA!"   
  
"At least she got to do her Haruhi dance!" said Cody. "You think she'll join us on the spinny ride?"   
  
"I dunno," Dani guessed, "I'm seeing people in the crowd dressed as the Ulrich brothers."   
  
"Yeah, leave her be for now." Kade stuffed a fried candy bar into his mouth. "She has found her people."   
  
Cody gasped. "OH! That reminds me! Blades, do the cool thing again! I have an idea!"

***  
  
Blades spun again, landing on the tips of his rotors, arching his back with a flourish.  
  
Boulder yelled, "SAIL!"  
  
And Blades fell down. Passers-by laughed so hard they dropped things. Heatwave rushed to pick him back up, and the adults Burnses were caught somewhere between awkward laughing and wondering if they should explain to Cody exactly what Blades was doing.  
  
"Ow..." Blades clambered back onto his feet, holding onto Heatwave for support. "I think I scuffed my chest with that one."   
  
"Oh..." Cody kissed his fingers and "placed" the kiss on Blades' little scratch. "I'm sorry."   
  
"It's okay." Blades mirrored the little kissing move, putting his smooch on Cody's head. "As long as it makes you laugh."   
  
"I just like watching Blades dance," Boulder remarked.  
  
***  
  
"COOOLD!" Kade jogged in place, covering his still-bare chest as best he could. "Cold cold cold COLD titties- where is your DAD?!"   
  
"He's on his way!" Frankie yawned, bundling up in her lab coat with Cody. "The Mayor took too long with his speech for winning the dance contest."  
  
"They should give the trophy to his costume," said Heatwave. "It did more of The Wobble than he did."   
  
Boulder shared an uncharacteristic grump with Heatwave. "I Wobble better than him, and I just learned today." Although more of his grump was the fact that the contest was obviously rigged from the start, and Priscilla had to go home early with an admittedly well-won third place trophy.   
  
Blades giggled. "Hey big bot! C'mon, back it up!"  
  
That was all it took. The collective family all cheered as Boulder did his best Wobble. It was enough to distract them all from the cold, and the dark, and the late, at least. Even Heatwave and Kade joined him after a little encouraging.   
  
"There's my little central star!" Doc Green lifted up the whole lab coat before he realized that Cody was in it as well. "Oh! Hello, Cody. Didn't bring a spare jacket, I see?"   
  
"Well, I left mine in the scooter, and-"  
  
...  
  
"OH CRAP," Dani screamed, "WHERE DID I PARK THE SCOOTER?!"

 


	14. And thus, Halloween was over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So ends my most popular sex-plot Rescue Bots fanfic.

It was 10:30 before the Burns finally started making their way home, Dani and Kade sharing a scooter while Graham rode home on Boulder's dozer-mode "back", Cody doing the same on Heatwave's tiny ladder. Blades kept up at a light jog. 

Halloween was coming to a close. 

Chase opened the front door before Kade could knock. "Welcome home!" 

"Hey, Chase!" Kade rubbed his arms. "How'd you and Dad do?" 

Chase, bless him, smirked. "I do not believe that is the proper demand for candy." 

Cody was the first one to yell "Trick or treat!", but eventually all the siblings had their leftover candy and were brought inside. Blades caught Chase up in a tight hug. Boulder snatched them both up in a tighter hug, and Heatwave rolled his optics at all of them. 

"And you made us hot chocolate! Wow!" Graham poured a cup straight from the pot. "And from scratch?" 

"He totally did! Look at the candy wrappers!" Dani noted from the trash can. "You went above and beyond!"

Each human got a mug, Cody's a little less full than the others because the idea of just that much more chocolate made him a little sick. They stood in the kitchen, too excited to sit, talking about the highlights of the night and relaying everything back to Chase, who "missed it" but was still missed, and Chase didn't understand the English language sometimes. One by one, the cups were refilled until the pot was drained. 

"You guys are gonna stay small until tomorrow morning, right?" Cody asked Blades, bouncing on his toes. "Right?" 

"Yep!" said Blades. "That's when Doc Greene comes back for the Minimizer." 

"Then let's have a sleepover! You can sleep in my room! You all can! And Heatwave can sleep in MY bed, and I'll get you guys sleeping bags, and-"

Chase let Cody continue his many ideas while Heatwave tidied up the living room. He mentioned to Graham, "The Chief made some mention of 'air mattresses' downstairs." 

"If you're gonna sleep in human beds, we'll set you up in the barracks." Graham sipped at his cup, still ignoring Cody's plans for the night. Heatwave brushed past him with a small "sorry". "No problem. They're all proper mattresses from when the place was a bunker. We can push them all together and make you guys a you-sized bed!"

"Will you guys need blankets?" Dani asked. 

Kade threw his empty mug in the sink. "I need a blanket. Somebody took all the throws out off of the couches in the living room." 

"Wait, what?" Dani checked through the kitchen doorway- nope, no blankets. "Who would take all the... Cody?" 

Cody had gone quiet, at some point. Along with quiet, he was missing, and Chase responded to inquisitive glances with a shrug. The siblings checked the kitchen, their eyes eventually falling on Boulder, who pointed to Blades, who montioned them to look around the corner into the foyer. They did. 

Heatwave had padded the nook of his arm with the living room blankets, and in the middle of the bundle was Cody, shoeless and fast asleep. Heatwave folded a soft hand over his little shoulder and pulled him in close.

"You go set up the beds," he whispered. "Which one is his room?"

"Middle one." Kade pointed up the stairs, glowing and proud. Dani snapped a fast picture. "Up the stairs, on the right."

"Thanks." Heatwave climbed a few steps, waiting for the rest of his bunch to shuffle off to the downstairs elevator- and for Chase to silently sneak past him into what he assumed was the Chief's room- before making the rest of the trip.

Middle door, on the right, into a room decorated with a lot of toys and cameras, Heatwave made his way to Cody's little bed. Most of the toys were trucks. Heatwave felt a little proud. As gently as he could, he pulled back the covers and put Cody down onto it...

Cody woke up anyway, but only barely. He held tight onto Heatwave's hand. "But we're gonna sleepover..."

"My team and I are going to sleep in the beds downstairs," Heatwave explained. He folded his hands over Cody's and guided them back down into the bed. "Don't worry. We'll come see you in the morning before we're big again." 

"Mm-hmm..." Cody stretched out. "Can we eat breakfast together?" 

"Love to. Breakfast it is."

Cody ducked into his bathroom for a quick tooth-brushing and came out in his pajamas. Heatwave tucked him back into bed and kissed his forehead. "Good night, Cody." 

"Good night, Heatwave." He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Heatwave stepped out into the hallway, waiting for Chase.

Chase, in the meantime, sat down on the edge of the bed. The shift of weight was just enough to wake up Charlie. "Mm?" 

The bot couldn't quite keep the sadness out of his tone. "Everyone is back from Halloween. I believe these will be our final moments in compatible size." 

While Charlie did understand, it did hurt a little to be reminded. "Oh. Well... darn, c'mere." 

Chase and Charlie leaned into each other, sharing a final kiss until Charlie's back just wouldn't let him anymore. "Ow." 

"I will make sure you stay seated for most of tomorrow, sir." 

Charlie laughed at that. "Oh, thank you so much. Last thing we need is the kids asking what I was up to." 

"It is 'none of their business'," Chase stated. "Sir."

"Damn right." Charlie gave his shoulders a firm pat. "And hey... there's always next Halloween, right?" 

Chase looked away, deep in thought, before responding, "I believe Valentine's Day is closer." 

"Oo-hoo... fiesty." Charlie pulled him in for one more kiss. "Okay, I have to sleep. Thanks again, Chase. Tonight was amazing." 

"You were amazing," Chase replied. "And I look forward to having you inside of me tomorrow." 

The sound Charlie made wasn't dignified, but if anyone asked, he could say he was sneezing. He gave Chase one last hug and rolled back into his groove to sleep. Chase exited into the hallway, met by Heatwave and just barely out of the way in time for the rest of the siblings.

"There you are, Chase..." Graham yawned. "Where'd you go?" 

"I was checking on the Chief. He retired early tonight." 

Kade stretched his arms above his head. "Dad always craps out early on Halloween... Don't worry about him. Good night, guys."

The Bots wished them all a final good night. They each motioned the other to stay quiet, and stayed completely silent until they were well and truly hidden in the bunker. They each shared a fast laugh before they dove into the giant bed that Boulder and Blades had made out of the four smaller ones the humans had assembled for them. Boulder was the first one to grapple Chase to him, and he immediately palmed his aft.

"Wow! He's still warm." 

"Man, Chief must've got you good..." Blades swooned. He adjusted his rotors so Heatwave could spoon him more comfortably and kicked his feet. "What was he like?" 

Chase blushed in infrared, but grinned. Boulder's groping turned into a light massage, soothing and stimulating. "I would place him, on a scale of one to ten, solidly at space nine." 

His team answered with a few impressed noises, Heatwave perking up especially. "What's the missing point?" 

Chase answered plainly, "That he was not Cybertronian."

"That's so romantic!" Blades buried his face into the mattresses in enthusiasm. "And really hot." 

"And yet," Chase noted in a low purr. "All of you are registering to me as having a low surface temperature." 

Heatwave chuckled low in his chest, letting his hands wander down Blades's chest. Boulder rolled over him more solidly, pulsing his EM field along Chase's back. Blades started to giggle in anticipation, and Chase, already worked up from before, popped his panel open.

"Let's fix that," Boulder rumbled, and as Blades pulled him in for a kiss, Chase mentally confirmed that this was indeed a happy Halloween.


End file.
